Heroes in a Fantasy
by NyanPie
Summary: A princess named Marinette, once a damsel in distress, is tasked with being the total opposite: Ladybug, a super heroine passed from generation to generation. How can she manage to be both at the same time? Meanwhile, a prince named Adrien lost his mother, and his family is falling apart. He is also the bearer of a super hero, named Chat Noir. LOVE SQUARE! Fairytale AU
1. First Impurressions Matter

HIAF C **h** apter 1: First impressions matter

 **Hey, NyanPie here! I came back from writing fanfics, after a long wait. I wrote this long before the origins episode, so I kinda guessed what happened at the first half of the story. (Please keep in mind that some things in this fic may not be canon!)**

 **Anyway, as you can see, I'M OFFICIAL LADYBUG TRASH! HELP MEEEEEE (lol actually don't help me) This is my first Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, I really hope that you enjoy!**

 **This story would include all the main ships (LadyNoir, MariChat, Adrienette, Ladrien). Be prepared XD! Also, it will include tons of reveals and cat puns (so be prepared for that, too!)**

 **Special thanks to my awesome friend for giving me a few ideas in the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I can't even animate 10 seconds of a cartoon, do you expect me to own Miraculous Ladybug? (If I did, they would KISS by now!)**

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Once upon a time in Paris, there lived a princess.

She was beautiful, with eyes of blue and dark hair as soft as silk. Her parents, the king and queen ruled their kingdom with a tender heart. They loved each and every one of their subjects, and in turn their subjects love them. Content with her life, the princess couldn't be more happier. But she longed to have a happy ending with her prince charming. Luckily, her eyes were already set on a certain prince. The moment she saw him, she was suddenly filled with visions of the life she awaited.

She knew the moment she saw him they would live a normal life together, as king and queen.

Until a black cat came along.

Oh, and a pair of Ladybug earrings.

.+*. +*.

The sky was baby blue with clouds spread over, like peanut butter on bread. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming. Only on days like this, you would be happy about life. But occasionally, you can't see it because YOU'RE BLINDFOLDED AND KIDNAPPED!

"Woah!" Princess Marinette yelled. It was her 5th time she had been captured ever since she was crowned princess. During the supposedly "magical" day that comes once in a year, a bag was thrown over her head, and she was flung across her mysterious kidnapper's shoulder.

"Unhand me, you brute! What is your problem?!" She was being carried over the kidnapper's shoulder, a position that she would rather not be in. Marinette swinged her fists wherever she could reach, but no avail, the kidnapper didn't even flinch or groan in pain. Why did she have to be captured right before her birthday party today, wasn't there a better time? It's like bad luck was poured all over her!

It took her a few minutes to realize her little tantrum is not doing anything at all. Defeated, the princess relaxed her shoulders and pondered for a moment, questions circling around in her mind. _Who would have the right mind to do something like this? What was the objective of placing her in a tall stone castle? Who was behind this? What is the meaning of life?_

Marinette rolled her eyes at the last question.

 _….And why would they leave her in there, with plenty of food to eat? Why did she have to wait in the castle to be rescued by Prince Adrien?_

Wait.

Did she just-

 _Prince Adrien._

Oh. My. Gosh.

PRINCE ADRIEN!

Marinette couldn't help the goofy grin which had appeared on her face, thinking about him always seems to calm her nerves. She let out a long, happy sigh, not even aware of her kidnapper's presence. Maybe being kidnapped wasn't so bad after all. Every time she gets captured, her prince would always appear a few moments later. Deciding to just spend the rest of her "ride" calmly, she closed her eyes and slept.

~A few dreams later~

Marinette wearily lifted her eyes, slowly getting up from her position. She moved her head around, processing the familiar surroundings around her. "We meet again." She mumbled. It was this place she is fated to meet whenever she's kidnapped.

Waving towards the wall in front of her, she let out an exaggerated happy tone: "Hello, Stone wall!" She then turned around to face yet another familiar object. "Hello, Mysterious moldy piece of blob which I think is hair!" She was then interrupted by her own stomach. _"Gruhuhhhhh…."_

Her stomach growling, she turned around to face the familiar buffet behind her. There's always a special in every kidnap, so what was it this time?

Her eyes scanned the red satin table, searching for a special. Only until she found it, her eyes lit up. On there, was a label written: "SPECIAL~OPEN ME". The object was just a clam shell shut tightly. Curious, she pried open the shell with a few grunts, and peered inside.

Nothing was inside.

"Oh well, whatever. I don't like clam anyway." Marinette shrugged and attempted to throw away the hollow shell...

...Before she witnessed a handful of sparkles _flinged_ towards her face. "YAGHH!" she screamed. The force unexpectedly flung her whole body flew across the room, and she hit the floor. Sitting up as she regained her vision, she saw something new. Standing, er, _floating_ before her was a tiny creature with a red coloured background and black spots scattered around it's back. The creature was floating around, even without wings.

"Hiya, Tikki here! I'm your personal Kwami!" The tiny creature yawned, and stretched her arms out.

The princess was speechless. She could only stare in surprise, mouth hanging wide open.

Tikki smacked her left hand on her face before sighing. "This always happens." She muttered as she shrugged. The Kwami flew over to Marinette's face, and waved it's tiny arms around her face. Only then did Marinette come back.

"Do you have any questions?" Tikki asked.

Falling back, Marinette yelled. "There's a bug in my room!" Gasped Marinette. "THERE'S A FLOATING, MAGIC, LADYBUG IN MY ROOM!" She screamed even more. The terrified girl took the first thing that was closest to her, which was a spoon. Throwing it, she took another object, and another. "Stay back!" She screamed.

Tikki continued dodging the objects hurtling towards her. "Please liste-" Tikki nearly got hit by a flying plate. "Please Listen!"

Marinette threw another small cutlery, until she held up a chopstick facing Tikki to defend herself. "Okay... I'll listen." With a sigh of relief, the Kwami repeated her sentence once again. "Do you have any questions?"

 _"A question?"_ Marinette inquired. She had just been hit by a blast of sparkles, and now the fairy is asking her a question like nothing's weird? But to be fair, the Bug Fairy did seem to be patient with her, even after dodging various objects thrown toward it.

Thinking up a question was hard, but picking one single question from Marinette's mind was harder.

Taking a deep breath, The princess spoke. "W-what's a Kwami?"

Tikki's face lightened up. "Glad you asked! Kwamis are a rare and organic beings that came from another dimension! The reason I'm here, is because it is our mission as Kwamis to help the human race from being over-run by the forces of evil, using Miraculouses! We were assigned to let fate decide who the owners of said Miraculouses were, even if we had to wait in a seashell for A LONG TIME!" The Kwami's pupils shrinked as she said the last few words.

Marinette nodded, staring at the Kwami before her. "So fate chose.. ME?!"

"Yes!-" Tikki exclaimed happily. "-YOU!" Her arms stretching out, pointing towards Marinette.

"Woah, uh, what an honour!" To which the Kwami happily nodded her tiny head.

The princess thought for a moment, before speaking. "Look, I really want to accept, I really do." Tikki, at this point already knew something was wrong. "But I don't think such a clumsy girl like me should be in charge of something like this. I may be a princess, but I am not definitely fit for the job! Imagine if I had both of these responsibilities that were depending on me, I'm sure you'd want to switch partners! "

Tikki hung her head, and spoke. "I understand. It's good of you for being so considerate, though. But can you at least wear these? I can't bear to give them to the wrong hands." The Kwami placed a set of black earrings on Marinette's hands.

"Earrings?" Marinette questioned.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it is way more than you think it is-" Tikki's face then got serious. "-Much, much more."

The princess inspected the earrings for a few seconds, before returning her gaze towards Tikki. "That I can do." She smiled. "Now!-" clapping her hands together, "I just need to wait for my prince~" She sighed dreamily.

~Meanwhile~

"Take that!" Chat noir yelled, swinging his fist in front of him. He missed, but hearing the sound of teleportation (which was a bomb exploding), he then swung his leg back, just in time to hit the enemy behind him. Today was a bad day, one Akuma managed to get into a man's bow tie, because he claimed that he always had bad luck following him everywhere (If he knows Chat Noir's powers, maybe he won't complain). Now he's on a rampage, teleporting everywhere, and he calls himself… You guessed it. The TelePorter. That wouldn't be a problem, if he wasn't going after Chat Noir's miraculous. The man was swinging his arms frantically, as he was throwing what seems to be little smoke bombs.

The black-dressed hero was about to make another cat pun (which would've count as the 7th one today), but was interrupted by a rough tug of his tail. "Oi! Didn't anyone tell you not to pull a cat's tail?" The attacker ignored him, and proceeded to grab his arm. "Why don't we stop fighting? I'll make sure you won't get hurt, okay? So-" Chat noir then smirked. "-CAT-pisce?"

The TelePorter rolled his eyes out of both agony and embarrassment for fighting the hero. Nevertheless, he continued throwing his bombs while dodging the Cat's attempts of hitting him. "Shut up!" He yelled, while teleporting.

"Hey! Watch your Cat-titude!" snapped Chat. This only angered the villain more, as he became quicker in pace. Teleporter managed to hit Chat Noir, but it was only a soft punch. Still Chat noir complained, with an exaggerated: "Me-OWCH!"

"I REALLY need to get a sidekick." Muttered the tired hero. He ran away from the teleporting enemy, but the villain appeared seconds before him as he did so.

 _'I just need to find out his weakness..'_ whispered the voice in Chat's mind.

~Back to the castle~

"I sense it."

The sudden remark surprised Marinette. "Sense what?" Questioned Marinette, turning her head to face the worried Kwami.

"Chat-" Tikki paused for a moment to think. "Chat Noir is in trouble! Please, PLEASE go save him!"

"But I don't even know how to even use my powers!"

"I remember one of the ladybugs in my generation saying that. You wouldn't believe how much she did, Marinette!"

"But I'm not the same person as her…" She replied softly.

Tikki just smiled and stared at Marinette, eye to eye. "Don't worry Marinette, you were prepared for this. The Miraculous chose you, at this specific place, time, and event. It won't just choose a random person for the job! Please just try using the miraculous, I promise you won't have to use it again if you don't want to."

(Cue dramatic music) Tikki's words made Marinette stronger somehow. She didn't feel any different, but she could feel a spark of confidence flaring within herself. How can it be, after a minute of saying no, that she changed her mind so quickly? "Hey, Tikki?" Marinette spoke, softly.

"..Yes?"

"I'm in. I'm sick of being the damsel in distress, even if I have twice the responsibility depending on my own hands, I don't care. I'm going to do it."

Tikki smiled, already showing all her thanks she could give to Marinette. "Then, we don't have a moment to waste! But first, look at this piece of paper. It has everything you **need** to know about Ladybug!" Picking the tiny piece of paper from Tikki's hands, Marinette tried to make out the tiny words that were written in cursive.

"Takki.. Spets On!" Marinette cried, surprising herself.

"Close enou-WOAH!" Tikki shouted, as she was dragged by the magical force into the miraculous.

A sudden burst of music flooded the tower (a catchy one, too.) "What is this music coming from?!" Marinette yelled. A red mask with black spots started to form on her face. "What's going on?!" Marinette hollered again, hoping that Tikki would answer. "Tikki? Where are you?!" Her Ladybug suit started to spread across her body, sparkles marking where it was spreading. She felt a slight tug on her hair, and she could feel them separated into a set of pigtails tied with a ribbon.

The transformed girl was relieved when it was finally over. Looking at her hands, her eyes widened with shock. Replacing the white gloves that covered her hands, was a Ladybug-like pattern. She looked down, and sure enough, her whole body was covered with that certain pattern. On her hip were bow and rope-attached arrows with the same pattern but with bigger spots.

Quickly she looked out the window, and she took a deep breath. Grabbing the bow and arrow, she clumsily shot out an arrow to test its power. Out the window it went, soaring through the baby blue sky with clouds spread over like peanut butter. The direction of the arrow seems to be flying towards a tree branch (which was a few metres away from the tower). Ladybug watched as the rope-arrow reached the branch, but at that moment, a man in blue appeared, blocking the way. Around the figure it went, and it stopped spinning when the rope circled him on the third loop. A sudden force ripped the heroine off the tower floor, and towards the man. After that, all Ladybug could do was fear for the worst, and it felt like an eternity until she collided with the mysterious man.

"OOF!"

Ladybug looked down on the victim, and gasped when she realized she's knocked him out. Is there a way to cure him, or undo what she just did? Unclenching her fist, she unfolded the tiny piece of paper hidden inside.

Ladybug Facts

*The rope attached to the arrow is infinite!

*You can create anything, but the object will always be random (Say "lucky charm")!

*You're awesome!

*You can cleanse the butterfly from evil!

*You will have five minutes to de-transform after you use your special power.

 _"What's with the fourth fact, Does Tikki have a grudge against butterflies?"_ Marinette thought.

"Hello! Thanks for catching my villain, Ladybug girl!" A sudden voice yelled from below. She looked down, and saw a boy with messy blond hair in a black cat suit. Throwing the "villain" on her shoulders (kind of how the kidnapper did it), she climbed down the thin tree. She faced the boy, and looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Please tell me, who are you?"

Smirking, the boy in the black cat suit bowed down, and began to introduce himself. "Glad you asked! I am the one and only Chat Noir, protecter of Paris."

Oh. Ohh.. Wasn't he the one Tikki mentioned, saying he's in trouble? Wasn't he very famous in her kingdom, who everyone called him the mysterious masked hero, or the "Cat Warrior"? Too bad she's too busy being kidnapped to see him.

Nodding, she said: "My name is Ladybug." Turning towards the knocked out villain, she asked: "What are we supposed to do with him now?"

"Easy!" He chuckled, his claws reaching towards the man. "We just have to find his cursed item." Helping Chat Noir, Ladybug tried to find an object that's curse-worthy. She pulled out a necklace around the man's neck. When she showed him it, his face lightened up. "Purr-fect, that must be it!" He exclaimed excitedly, exaggerating the "r". Ladybug smiled, knowing she accomplished her first task.

Unfortunately, as soon as he touched the necklace, the eyes of the villain opened up immediately. "Hissssssssss…." Chat Noir hissed, shaking on all fours. "Hah! Think you can catch me?!" He then quickly threw one of his smoke bombs. "Chat Noir, Behind you!" Ladybug shot her arrow yet again, but this time instead of catching the Teleporter, the wire circled around a nearby branch, trapping the branch within the it. "Hahah! I don't need to teleport to get out of the way, I can just wait for you to fail by yourself!"

The heroine only stared at the branch wrapped with her rope-attached arrow, until it came back to her hand. "I'm such a klutz…" She sighed. Noticing her spirits were down, Chat Noir put his hand on Ladybug's shoulder. "Don't worry, I was just like you when I started. I'm still learning." He smiled gently.

She smiled weakly, and was just about to thank him, before she heard the sound of a tiny bomb exploding. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I believe I have to take your Miraculouses now."

"In your dreams!" They yelled together.

As soon as he threw the smoke bomb, the two heroes jumped out of the way, just in time for the TelePorter to miss them. Both of them were on a different branch attached to different trees, with the Villain in the middle. As soon as they were about to jump at him, the TelePorter teleported away.

Every time they tried to strike a move, he would always miss them all. Growing tired, Ladybug suddenly remembered something about her 'Lucky Charm'. "I think (huff) it's time for us to use our (huff) powers, right?"

"If you want to!" He replied, while dodging one of the few kicks the TelePorter threw at him.

Um, Lucky Charm!" Cried Ladybug, unsure if what she said was correct. Immediately, another blast of music filled her ears, and the arrow in her hand sprang up into the sky. A trail of tiny ladybugs and sparkles followed it, until it stopped and it formed a shape.

Appearing from the sky, a long cane fell down safely into Ladybug's hands. "What am I supposed to do with this, perform a tap dance?" She asked, confused.

"I'm out!" Yelled the tired villain, throwing another smoke bomb. Marinette observed the man closely, and realized something. "What are you standing here for, we have to go catch him!" Pulling the cat's tail before he could go any further, she told him of her discovery. "Haven't you noticed, he can only teleport within a radius of two metres! We have to lure him into an open space." She then let go of his tail, before running off.

"Smart girl." He whispered, although he knew she didn't hear him. Running after her, he shouted into the distance: "Wait for me!"

As soon as Chat saw Ladybug, she was still trying to catch the TelePorter. Using this opportunity, he noticed how cute her pigtails were, bouncing and flowing in the wind. Oh, and those legs, those gorgeous legs, were so strong yet so delicate. Noticing how he wasn't concentration on the mission, he slapped himself on the head. "Focus, Chat, focus!" He demanded himself. Taking bigger steps and a quicker pace, he soon caught up to her.

"Where do you suggest we lure him to?" Asked Chat, still running.

"I know a place." Ladybug answered.

Chasing the villain into an open field of green, The heroine stopped to bend down and smell the flowers quickly before executing her plan.

Tying her arrow with the base of the cane, she shouted to the villain. "Let's play a little game of helicopter, shall we?"

"Uh, no thank you!" The man replied nervously, noticing her confidence.

"Chat Noir, I advise you to stay clear." Before he could reply, Ladybug ran off and began spinning her whole body, her arrow spinning next to her body horizontally. As soon as she did, the villain began to start panicking. Teleporting away (and leaving behind a lot of smoke as he did so), she stayed at the same position as she did before, remembering something on the sheet of paper Tikki wrote.

'The rope attached to the arrow is infinite!'

Smirking, she let her mind be one with the arrow rope, and stretched it to a longer distance. Unfortunately for TelePorter, the cane hooked around his waist, making him fall.

As soon as Chat sees this, he immediately sprang towards the villain. He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"Cataclysm!" He screamed, scaring the villain. A black aura appeared from his hand, giving him the power of distruction. He smashed his claw towards the ground, and it crumbled into a three metre hole (and a few more centimetres for good measure), until the villain had no chance at escaping. Jumping down into the hole, the cat hero ripped away TelePorter's necklace in the blink of an eye, before smashing the jewelry.

A small black butterfly fluttered out quickly, trying to escape. On the surface, Ladybug spotted the insect and cupped it in her hands. "Now I know what Tikki meant from 'cleansing the butterfly from evil'." She muttered.

Just then, Chat Noir jumped out of the hole carrying the unconscious man. "Butterfly, I free you from evil!" Ladybug yelled. She fumbled around with the arrows, shooting the black butterfly as it got away. When the arrow hit it, it disappeared along with the butterfly's black colour.

Chat Noir could only watch in awe while the man on his back was gaining conscious. As he woke up and saw Chat Noir, his confused face turned into joy. "Chat Noir, I'm your biggest fan!" He yelled, changing said hero's attention to him. "This is by far the most luckiest moment I've ever experienced in my life!" Noticing Ladybug at the corner of his eye, he turned to face her and questioned: "..And who are you supposed to be?"

Before Ladybug could answer him, Chat Noir quickly said: "She's the newest protector of Paris, Ladybug. Isn't she claw-some?!"

Nodding his head, the man stretched out his hand to shake Ladybug's. "Nice to meet you Ladybug, you're so lucky to be working beside Chat Noir!"

Laughing, Ladybug replied: "I guess I am."

Suddenly, tiny beeps were heard coming from Chat's ring. "Oh! I'm about to de-transform. I don't know about you, but I don't want to reveal my identity so quickly on the first day on meeting you, my lady."

"First with the cat puns and now with a nickname? You never fail to impress, minou." She giggled.

The two shared a quick fist bump before jumping off in different directions, leaving the man alone.

"They're quite a pair." He chuckled, looking at both directions.

~Meanwhile in an evil lair...~

White butterflies were fluttering around in the room, whilst a tall man dressed in black, mask covering his identity, was standing in the middle of them all. He was watching the heroes' ever since the story began.

"At last you appear, Ladybug. You may have defeated your first villain, but one day, I swear I will take you and Chat Noir's Miraculouses. When that happens, I will finally get what I yearned for all these years." The window on the ceiling closed, cutting off the only source of light in the room.

~Back at Ladybug~

Running towards the direction of the tower, Marinette couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

 _Did I just do that? Was it all a dream? How did I, Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheung help defeat a villain with Chat Noir? Oh my gosh, why can't I stop thinking about it! I'm definitely going to thank Tikki for it. I can't believe I almost turned down this opportunity._

Her thoughts ceased when she saw Prince Adrien waiting for her at the bottom of the tower. "Shoot!" She half whispered/screamed. Remembering there was a second window behind the tower, she quickly took the chance to swing herself the heck in.

~Chat Noir's POV~

Swinging himself on a tree, his hero persona dissolved away, his Kwami (Plagg) zipping out of his ring.

"I think I just fell in love." Prince Adrien whispered, not even bothering to face Plagg.

"Geez, teenagers and their romance. Do I have to deal with this every time a Chat Noir meets a Ladybug?"

"Well, it's not my fault your face is always stuffed with cheese."

" **CAMEMBERT** cheese! There's a big difference. What does she have that Camembert cheese doesn't?"

"For one, she doesn't stink like a horse stable!"

"That's offensive to Infin and camey!" Plagg snapped back, referencing Adrien's horse.

Ignoring Plagg and climbing down the rough tree trunk, Adrien couldn't help but sigh dreamily. "How can you miss her irresistible attitude? She just defeated a teleporting villain but she treats it like anybody could do that!"

Before Plagg could even reply, Adrien brushed Infin's pearl white mane and continued his chatter.

"-Also, how can you miss her eyes? It's like looking into an ocean of pure blue."

"Ugh, don't you already have a girlfriend?" Plagg questioned, sitting on Adrien's shoulder.

Feeding Infin a sugar cube before turning towards his shoulder, Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"What do you mean 'who', it's Marinette, the girl you save everyday after you've defeated a villain!"

"Oh come on now, she's just a really close friend of mine who I know. Anyways, I'm the only one who knows where she is. What kind of person would I be if I left her in the tower to die? Speaking of which, she's probably waiting in the tower right now!" He then quickly used the reins and Infin galloped away.

—

 **DUN DUN DUUUUN! THE SUSPENSION! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! The next chapter will include Adrienette fluff ^_^**

 **I have a rough plan on where the story is heading, but it would be awesome if you review and give me feedback and ideas!**

 **See you next chapter :D**


	2. Dinner With The Parents

HIAF Chapter 2: Dinner with the parents

 **Hey people! I'm here to present to you chapter 2 of Heroes in a Fantasy. As I said before, this chapter will include the one and only cinnamon roll ship, Adrienette. WHOOOOOOOO! *rolls around holding Adrien and Marinette dolls***

* * *

(Marinette POV)

As soon as she set foot in the tower, her superhero persona shimmered away from herself like how she first transformed, but in reverse. Tikki flew up beside her, and smiled at Marinette. "See? I told you you can do it!"

The princess giggled and hugged Tikki, whispering: "I know, I never should have doubted you."

The two were then interrupted by Prince Adrien calling Marinette's name. "Shoot!" She said, looking out the window. "Tikki, hide in my pocket!" She whispered. He was already halfway up the tower. "I'm here!" She called out towards his direction.

 _Did he come all the way here just to rescue me?_

"Wait for me!" He called back, smiling. Blushing, Marinette muttered: "How is he so perfect?" She then brought herself back into the tower and positioned herself on the wall.

When he reached the top of the tower, he saw Marinette leaning against the wall, wearing sunglasses. "Sup."

Adrien could only stare back at her, unsure of what her objective was.

Seeing the confused look on his face, Marinette quickly pushed herself off the wall and threw the sunglasses behind her, flustered.

"Uh, I mean hi. How are you? I'm fine, thank you. Unless you're feeling fine that is." She stammered, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.

Laughing, Adrien kneeled down before saying: "I'm feeling awesome! Like always, I'm here to collect you from this tower."

"I'm sorry for causing you this trouble! I should've been more careful and not let myself get kidnapped for the fifth time!" She replied sincerely.

"No, no! It's not your fault, it's the kidnapper's fault for kidnapping you here."

Marinette responded by smiling sheepishly.

"Well then, let's go! I don't think your parents would want to wait any longer."

"O-of course!"

Grabbing rope from his belt, he tied it around a nearby pole and then to himself. Gesturing his hand towards Marinette, he wrapped his arm around her torso. Heart beating, she let him exit the tower, the second time for her today.

It almost felt like an eternity until they reached the ground. She was stuck with hearing Prince Adrien's heart beating, not that she minded.

When his feet brushed against some grass, he gently placed Marinette down on the ground. As he untied the ropes around his waist, he looked over his shoulder. "Shall I escort you home, princess?"

"Y-you don't have to go through all this trouble for me, I can walk home myself."

Prince Adrien laughed. "It wasn't a question, princess! Besides, I don't think you know how to get out of this place."

Nervously chuckling, Marinette brushed strands of hair that fell on her face. "That is true, thank you."

The blond smiled and carried her up on Infin, oblivious to the fact that she was blushing and sputtering out words like 'thank you' and 'omigosh hescarryingme'.

When they arrived, Marinette could clearly see all the effort her parents had done to decorate her birthday party.

The whole castle was decorated with colourful streamers, and what used to be healthy looking balloons were placed at the sides of the doorway (now they looked like old wrinkly raisins).

Marinette's parents were already there, sitting on the front porch, crying in each other's arms. Marinette noticed a few guards that were supposed to keep watch at the doors were gone, so she assumed that her parents must've ordered every guard to look for her. She felt sad they had to go through the pain of losing her again, but happy that she could return to them once more. When they finally noticed the two on the horse, they immediately ran towards them.

"Thank you so much Prince Adrien, we cannot thank you enough!" The mother with black hair and blue hair lights exclaimed happily. Tears streamed down her face as she planted kisses all over Marinette.

"It was my pleasure, Queen Cheung."

"Please, call me Sabine!"

"And me, Tom."

Hugging their daughter, Marinette took this chance to ask them something. She pulled her dad aside and whispered to him. "Hey dad? Can Adrien eat dinner with us?" She asked hopefully, nervously smiling. Crud! She forgot to ask Adrien as well! She turned to him, and he was smiling at her, so that was a good sign.

Instantly, her parent's eyes lit up. They both answered, "Of course! Come in, come in!" Grabbing the prince's arm into the doorway.

As soon as Adrien was out of sight, the two parents embraced each other and sighed happily as they watched the prince. "Let's call back all our guards and bake him the best foods we can make!"

The two quickly followed the oblivious prince into the castle, and went into the kitchen to start helping the chefs knead the dough.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette couldn't help but smile. Her parents were like a match made in heaven. She couldn't help but wonder how two people from different places could be so perfect together. Pushing that aside, her parents may be a bit too obsessive with her finding true love.

Going into the dining room (where Adrien was already sat), she asked him, while trying not to stutter, "P-pardon me Pri- she remembered not to use that word, "-Adrien, a-are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"It's only my dad now... I don't think he would mind, he never eats with me anyway-" He replied gloomily, but smiled when he said: "-but I'm really happy I get to share dinner with you! You're an awesome friend."

Friend.

 _Friend._

 _He thinks of her as a_ _ **friend.**_

 _But what else can he call me?_

Sighing, Marinette smiled brightly towards him before sitting down on a chair. "Not a problem!"

He smiled in return, and the two sat in silence until her parents returned to the table, retrieving croissants in their hands. Instantly, Adrien's eyes lit up, following the croissants placed on the table.

"My, my! Someone's hungry!" Sabine teased. Blushing scarlet, Adrien nervously laughed.

"Well eat up, son! We'll make sure you get stuffed up and ready to go before you go home." As if on que, the smell of soups and mushroom quiches filled the room, making everyone's stomaches grumble in hunger.

Picking up a quiche from the platter, Adrien happily questioned Marinette's parent's on how they first met, immediately striking up a conversation.

Answering his question, they told him of the story that changed both their lives drastically.

"Well, if we're trying to make it simple, my dear wife here was the soon-to-be bride of the current emperor of China."

"I hated arranged marriages, especially when I didn't know the person whom I was going to marry!" Chuckled Marinette's mother as she thought back to her nostalgic past.

Helping his wife add on to the story, he added: "So she got me, who she met on the streets to pretend to be her boyfriend!"

"Little did I know he was the prince of France pretending to be a peasant!"

They both laughed together, and continued telling the story, which consists of awkward dates and dinner parties that somehow made them closer together.

By the end of the story, everyone have already finished their meals. "...and that's about it on how we first met. Got any questions?"

Adrien shook his head, only grateful that they shared the story to him. He took a bite of ice cream the server just placed in front of him. "I loved the story. That was quite the scoop!" He blurted out.

Everyone on the dining table stared at him.

Before Adrien could die in a puddle of embarrassment, Tom chuckled in a hearty manner, while Sabine and Marinette politely laughed.

"Thanks! I _loaf_ it too." Tom said almost instantly.

Adrien smiled, but Marinette and Sabine was trying to contain their annoyances towards Tom, forcing out laughter.

Marinette, ever since her parents started telling the story (which she's heard a few hundred times), has been staring at the prince's face and analyzing his every emotion. When he smiled, she could feel her cheeks heat up. When he laughed, her cheeks heated up even more.

Unfortunately for Marinette, her parents were watching them the whole time. Speaking in hushed whispers about who-knows-what, they left the room after saying: "Before you go, we must play some music-" but both of their heads popped back into the room, and they added: "-it's traditional."

Marinette suddenly became awfully suspicious of her parents. She's used to their antics on trying to help her find love.

"RAHHHHHHHHH! JE T'AIME THE WAY YA SMIL-"

A blast of rock music filled the room, almost making Adrien and Marinette go deaf. She could hear her parents swear quietly across the room before stopping the music.

"Jagged Stone, right?" Chuckled Adrien.

"Yes! I'm a really big fan of him." She replied almost instantly. "They don't even acknowledge this type of music, I have a suspicion that they rummaged through my drawers while I was away..." She trailed off.

This made Adrien chuckle.

"I wish I had your parents. My dad's changed so much ever since mom's gone." His face then turned serious, and green orbs met blue. "Marinette..." He whispered.

Blushing a deep shade of pink, she replied back: "..Yes?"

"Can you promise me one thing?" Seeing her nod frantically, he continued. "Please cherish your parents. I don't want you to feel as much pain as I did when I lost one of mine." Seeing how serious he was, she replied slowly: "I-I promise! Thanks for telling me that."

Letting his eyebrows express his relief, he opened his dry lips to say something, but was interrupted by another blast of music. This time it wasn't one of Jagged Stone's newest singles, no, it was actually the opposite instead. A sweet melody filled their ears, they could hear something mixed between romance and funk in the tune. Face palming herself, Marinette hoped that her parent's objectives weren't the same as she think they were. They wouldn't surely try to make them dance, would they? That is way too cliché and old fashioned!

"Let's humour them." Adrien's voice echoed in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

Grabbing her hand, the prince lead her to a bigger room in the castle. "Think of this as a practice run for the big ball." He whispered before moving his feet.

Looking down, Marinette swayed her feet in the pattern just the way she had practiced since she received the invitation to said ball from King Agreste. _Up, up, right, right, down, down, left, left._

As they swayed together, Adrien couldn't help but notice how good at dancing the princess was since the last dance, which was a few months ago. "You've improved!" He chuckled.

"I've been practicing." She shyly replied. Yes, that much was true, she'd been really clumsy last time. She would always step on her partner's feet so much to the point she had to call her best friend Alya to help her practice dancing. Speaking of which, Alya was going to be the first person she'll call after he leaves!

 _She won't believe what my parents just did!_ Marinette thought, giggling to herself.

As she was too busy being lost in thought, she didn't notice her left foot was caught in her dress. When she realized, it was already too late. She tripped backwards, waiting for herself to make impact to the ground.

But it never came.

She found herself with prince Adrien's arms wrapped around her torso, the second time today.

Eye to eye, she could practically feel their noses touching. Her hair was barely touching the ground, but she didn't care. They stayed like this, staring into each other's eyes for five seconds until Adrien lifted Marinette back to her feet.

"Marinette!" He laughed, "I just said you've improved!"

Turning redder than she already is, she stumbled backwards trying to recollect herself. "A-apologies."

Stalking the two AGAIN, the queen giggled to herself and muttered under her breath, "They're gonna marry." Hearing this, the king only stared at the two and smiled. Suddenly bursting into the room, Marinette and Adrien flinched for a moment before staring at the king and queen.

"Thank you for supporting our tradition. You may go, please come again!" The king said, smiling softly. Marinette watched as her parents led him towards the front castle door. She still couldn't process what happened, and no matter how cheesy it is, she couldn't help but keep on thinking about it.

Realizing he was already leaving, she rushed towards the doors and tried to thank him. "Thank you so much for everything!" She chirped, making the prince smile.

"No problem, you can always count on me to catch you." He winked at her. "I should thank you too, the dinner was delicious and fun!"

She smiled, but it dissolved as sympathy painted her face. "On a serious note though, I do really hope you find your mom. I wouldn't imagine how I'd feel if I lost one of my parents."

His eyes twinkled, and he gave a grateful smile. He stepped out of the castle, before turning his head again. Waving goodbye, he set off on his horse.

Just as he was out of view, Marinette's parents turned to look at her at the same time, probably expecting her to say something.

Giggling, she thanked them. "Give me a heads up next time you make us dance!" She said, jokily scolding them. They then all hugged each other once more, sharing their warmth together.

Marinette sat on her desk, writing a letter on paper with a quill pen to Alya.

 _Dear Alya,_

 _How are you? Are you having a good time visiting your grandmother? I have some good news to share with you! You wouldn't believe what just happened. Prince Adrien saved me yet again, but this time I managed to ask him to go over for dinner. And if that's not enough, my parents made Adrien and I dance after the dinner, saying it's 'traditional'._

 _Anyway, I hope I can hear from you again, I miss you already._

 _~From your bestest friend, Marinette_

 _P.S. Want to go together to pick out dresses to wear for the big ball?_

Once she was done writing, Marinette re-read the letter before smiling, confirming her satisfaction. She slipped it into an envelope, and in turn she slipped the envelope into a box labeled 'To mail'.

Sighing happily, she fell back onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

* * *

 **...And that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it's short. The next chapter will include MariChat, a personal favourite of me and Sophie (a guest who reviewed on my story). *SQUEEEE!***

 **Please Review, Follow, and Favourite. It really encourages me to post more! See you next chapter!**


	3. The Kitnapper Part 1

HIAF Chapter 3: The Kitnapper Part 1

Several weeks has passed since the dinner. Ladybug and Chat Noir had grown closer together, improving more and more during each and every akuma attack. Chat Noir's feelings for Ladybug blossomed, and in turn the princess grew more feelings for Prince Adrien as he 'rescued' her from the tower after each attack. Little did they know they had formed a silly love square only including two people.

In their own private time, Marinette and Alya were planning to buy their dresses a week before the ball.

Adrien awoke with a loud trumpet noise blasting full volume in his ears. Immediately springing his torso up, he cried: "I'm up!" But to his demise, the 'music' still wouldn't stop. Rolling his eyes, he ripped the blankets off his body before standing up fully, facing towards the morning call. The boy who was playing the trumpet stood there, the only thing that was moving was his fingers. A black tuxedo which was a tad to big for him loosely draped at the bottom of his torso, while the black pants under the tux looked really tight.

"Nino!" He hissed, tired of hearing the same noise over and over again.

Seeing the prince was up from his bed, he removed the instrument from his lips. "Sorry sir, just doing my job." Nino replied monotonously, as if he was a robot trying to be sarcastic.

"I don't really like it when you call me sir."

"Just doing my job-" he paused, leaning in over to Adrien for a quick moment. "-Y'know, your dad has his ears around the house 24/7! I'm not even sure if I should be trusting you or not."

The prince's tired face transformed into a humorous look. "You don't trust me, your long time bestie? I'm so offended!" He pulled a dramatic pose, placing his right hand on his forehead.

"We've only known each other for a few months, and you call me your best friend?"

"What else would you be?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm supposed to be one of the castle's butlers that your father trusted me with **you**?"

"I told you, you don't have to worry. Would he imprison his own son?"

"Why are you asking me that question, you know him way better than I do!"

Adrien stopped for a brief moment to think. Would his dad really imprison his own son? Acting very mysterious didn't help the prince to find what his true intentions were. He shook the depressing thought clouding his mind, and continued to chat with the butler.

"Anyway," Nino paused, trying to remember what he was going to tell the prince. "-Oh! Another breakfast buffet. When you're done cleaning yourself up, I'll meet you downstairs so we can go and eat buffet!" His stomach growled after he said that, disappearing behind the door.

Marinette rose from her bed, stretching both of her arms out. The night before, her parents had informed her that they were both leaving to an important meeting, which means she has the whole castle to herself! She looked over to Tikki, who was sleeping soundly on the silk pillow Marinette provided for her. She'd guess Tikki would be there sleeping. After all, she had woken up so early. Deciding not to disturb her, the princess opened the door to her bathroom to brush her teeth. After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom and decided to go to the balcony to get more of the welcoming sunshine that was seeping through her curtains.

She didn't bother changing, because she's not going to get outdoors anyway. Sitting down on a wooden bench, she enjoyed the sun's welcoming warmth before opening her eyes again. From below, she could see a short girl with long red hair strolling around, not even bothering that her hair was touching the ground.

 _Fashion and Style these days are weird._

Shrugging, she adverted her direction to a group of kids playing together under a tree, providing them a giant shade to cool off from the sun. Looking at the tree reminded her of how green and colourful the view was.

Oh, how she loved Paris!

She took out her sketch book, and sketched out a new design she had come up with a few seconds ago, using trees and nature as her theme. This was seriously a perfect day for her and the kingdom.

No homework to be frustrated about, plenty of time to draw her designs, and most importantly: freedom. Maybe when Tikki wakes up, she can go explore the kingdom as Ladybug.

She was so happy for no reason, but she loved it. Living in Paris is awesome! Sketching on her balcony is awesome! Being dressed in her pyjamas is awe-

Suddenly, she couldn't see. Darkness flooded her eyesight, and not a single trace of light could be found. Marinette tried to blink her eyes, but no avail.

Sighing, she thought of the only conclusion on why there was darkness. She was being kidnapped.

AGAIN.

Seriously, wasn't there a better time?!

Like every single time when the darkness invaded her eyes, she would feel herself flinged across the kidnapper's shoulders as if she was nothing but a dirty potato sack. She had learned to accept it and wait for this person-no-BEAST to put her in the usual tower. After all, she can just transform into Ladybug anyway.

 _Wait. Tikki's not here with me._ Marinette fidgeted for a bit to double check, and found out that Tikki was indeed nowhere near her.

She panicked. _No Tikki means no Ladybug, which means no freedom!_

 _...But then again there's Prince Adrien._ She relaxed once again. ... _Aren't I Ladybug, one of the two protectors of Paris?! What am I doing here, helpless on someone's shoulder?_

Without hesitation, she kicked away the arm that was holding her before rolling away onto the pavement below her. If she'd done this before being Ladybug, she would certainly pass out from the sudden impact on the ground. For the first time in her life, she heard the kidnapper grunt. She had never heard anything more beautiful. It gave her a sense of satisfaction of finally getting some noise to push through the lips of her kidnapper.

Thanks to her pyjamas, she ran away easily, without worrying about her un-bonded legs (why weren't they tied up in the first place?) tripping over. As she ran, she lifted the bag from her face. It turned out to be brown, as she expected. gripping the bag with her firm fists, she peered back to see the captive for the first time. Only, the captive wasn't there.

Is the person invisible? Did he/she run away?

Slowing down, the princess cautiously stepped backwards, preparing for the person to jump at her any moment. "Show yourself!-" Marinette slowly held up her fists for defence. Putting her position to use, she then added: "-As the princess of Paris, I may spare you if you do so."

"I'd hate to burst your bubble, but the purr-son's you're looking for is behind you."

She'd know that pun anywhere. Was it really _him?_

Turning her head slowly, her suspicions had been correct. His familiar face confirmed it to be true, replacing the blurry image of him in her mind with a clear close up.

It was him.

Chat Noir.

Hanging upside-down from a thin tree branch using his legs, he smiled a playful smile towards her. She had a huge urge to punch it off his face, if it wasn't for her confusion at his presence. "You're quite feisty today, _ma princesse._ " He then swung himself onto the grass below him, and walked slyly towards her. She backed away, step by step, following his pace. "Who are you?" She replied, eyes widened, trying to make herself look scared. "..And why are you always kidnapping me?

"Do not be afraid princess. I am Chat Noir, one of the guardians of Paris. I only wish to rescue you from harm's way." He kneeled down in an attempt to kiss her hand. Harm's way? HARM'S WAY?! How, by flinging her over his shoulders carelessly and placing her in an old abandoned tower?

Trying not to pull her hand away, Marinette tried to reason with him. Politely. "I'm sorry, but there are people called castle guards and polices."

Smirking at her sassiness, he decided to reply with a flirty remark. "But I'm sure you'd would want someone like _me_ to rescue you instead." He proceeded to flex his muscles, but unfortunately for him, they weren't even visible beneath his thick leather suit.

Controlling her urge to laugh (especially since she's still mad at Chat Noir for ruining her morning), she tried to reply like how a princess should speak: "Thank you for your **very** creative way of protecting me my _loyal_ knight, but I think I'll return home now." She noted to herself to ask him why he was so intent on rescuing her in Ladybug form, then turned to storm towards direction of Paris (the Eiffel tower was not far away from here), but was stopped by a sudden force colliding with her head. "Oof!" Falling back, she adverted her eyes towards the thing that had made her fell, but Chat Noir jumped in front of her, blocking her view. Standing up, Marinette moved herself to the side of her hero partner to see the thing she had bumped into.

But it wasn't a "thing". It was a girl, actually. The long haired girl who she had seen on her balcony half an hour ago. She was draped in a long green dress that was torn at the bottom, with matching shoes. Her red hair was sprawled on the ground, moving slightly in the wind; as if trying to fly without wings.

Sobbing, the girl tried to get out the words between her wails. "H-help m-me please!" She fell to the ground, her pale hands cupping her face.

Chat Noir bent down to hold her up before asking the girl what was wrong. The girl just stayed there, sobbing quietly for ten seconds before suddenly reaching for the hero's ring. "Chat Noir, she's trying to get your ring!" Just in the nick of time, the cat hero yanked his hand away before the girl can grab his miraculous. Noticing that she already revealed her true intentions, the Akuma plucked a strand of hair off Chat Noir's head and cackled before twirling herself in her hair and disappearing into the air.

"She's gone!" The hero yelped, covering the finger that held his ring. His green orbs whisked around frantically, cautious of the girl that might appear suddenly and grab his ring. "Ladybug's never late! Maybe there's another Akuma attack in the other part of Paris, but I _really_ need her right now!" Taking this chance and deciding to let the anger melt away, the princess decided to ask him a question she could never ask in her alter ego form. "Why do you need Ladybug this much? I thought you could take Paris on your own before." Instantly, his eyes sparkled like the majestic night sky of Paris.

"I'm sort of new on this hero business, and I it's not like I can handle this alone… Before she came, I was nearly on a verge of quitting being a hero. Ladybug is just so courageous and selfless, she's the reason I continued." He paused, looking at Marinette's surprised face. "By the way... I'll let you on a little secret here, I have the full collection of the Ladybug doll series!" Marinette smirked and hid it, knowing that Chat Noir confessed his secret to Ladybug in a different form. She's only been in the team for weeks, how popular WAS ladybug?

"No silly, I meant why do you depend on her when you already took a few of Akumas on your own before her?"

"Let's just say she handled them gentler than I did."

"Are you implying that you killed them?"

"No, no, no. I used my cataclysm on them."

"That's the same thing! They were innocent butterflies!"

"I only destroyed the darkness. But I accidentally killed one before."

She gave him a small frown.

Chat Noir then added, "That was only the first time I dealt with one before, and it was a risk I had to take. You know how they multiply by themselves in their dark form."

Marinette thought for a moment and nodded. There really was no other way to get rid of the darkness without Ladybug. Makes her wonder why the Ladybug Miraculous wasn't handed to a person better than her, with this much power.

"Speaking of multiplying, I've got something to _add._ " He winked sat her, and continued to speak. "I believe I told you I need to keep you out of harm's way, so I am _very_ sorry for this." In a flash, he scooped her up and this time held her right above his head as he ran. Marinette didn't move out of shock for a few seconds, before squirming and kicking. All she could manage to punch was the air. She HAD to go back to the castle again to Tikki! If she doesn't, she might as well give up her life of heroism when she was this useless while having a miraculous under her care.

After feeling the wind in her hair for one minute, she could feel it stop as Chat Noir placed her in the castle window. "Wait! Please! I have to go back t-"

"There! Snug as a (lady)bug in a rug."

Before Marinette could say anything else, he disappeared out the window into the sky. "ARRGHHH!" she cried out, gripping onto the window sills tightly in frustration.

Yawning and stretching her little arms out, Tikki awoke from a slumber on her silk bed. She soaked in the warmth of the thin ribbons of sunlight travelling through the window curtains, and rested there for a moment, enjoying the sensation. Her big doll eyes scanned across the room, expecting Marinette to be asleep in her bed, if not at least in the room. Where could she be?

"Marinette?" She asked towards the air. After no reply, she assumed with her positive thinking that Marinette had gone for a walk around the castle grounds. Before going to search through room by room, she saw the balcony doors were wide open. Marinette usually closed them when she was done going onto the balcony. Panic poured into Tikki's system as she frantically flew in the balcony. No sign of Marinette. All she could see was a sketchbook and a pen scattered on the ground, with an unfinished drawing of Paris.

She had been kidnapped. Tikki felt guilt rise up onto her for allowing something like this to happen. She shouldn't have eaten so much cookies the day before. But they were so good…. Especially when it's made by the king and queen themselves… She really did admire them baking it by themselves instead of asking their personal chefs to do so.

Shaking her head as if trying to get rid of these thoughts, she flew towards the direction where her mind is set, her wings fluttering faster than usual. Back to the place they first met.

Marinette sighed, still not changing her position since Chat Noir placed her here. She looked out the window and let out another sigh once more, as if it was a dark and gloomy day instead of a bright and sunny one. As she's doing this, she was busy riding the train of thought.

Did Chat Noir really intended to protect her from danger? It does make sense, because it just so happens there's always an 'Akuma Attack' on the newspaper headline that coincidentally happens every time she gets kidnapped. Even so, why would he even want to rescue _only_ her? There's plenty of princesses that lives near the town. What's the specific reason? She searched through every single possibility in her mind, and in the end, she concluded that her parents hired him to protect her. Through the method of kidnapping. If that were true, her parents had a lot of explaining to do.

"Marinette!" a sweet voice rang in her ear.

The princess turned around, and as soon as she saw it source of the voice, her lips curled up joyfully, her eyes shimmering like the moon's reflection in a river.

"Tikki!" She squealed, rushing over to the tired Kwami. "Do you need any food?"

After huffing and gasping a few times, Tikki smiled, saying she's alright. "Hurry, we need to transform! There's an Akuma near the castle grounds, and we need Ladybug to purify it!" Smiling at Tikki's eagerness, Marinette immediately shouted: "Tikki, spots on!" The familiar transforming sequence began, and once it's done Ladybug leaped out the window, enjoying the smell of freedom as she jumped.

Chat Noir looked around cautiously as he slowly walked around. He felt guilty for leaving the Princess stuck in the tower, but that was the only way to keep her safe. He had guessed the Akuma had came from the direction of the Eiffel tower, as that was where Marinette had walked towards before bumping into the girl. He then smirked, thinking of the fact that being in Chat Noir's form had revealed another side of the princess to him. She was more confident and sassy than she was when he's in his normal prince form. She reminded him of Ladybug, they were so similar. Could they be sisters?! Maybe. He added it to his collection of Ladybug theories. Perhaps when they are closer the heroine could tell him.

He walked a little more before jumping on a tree and sat there to think. He then remembered that the Akuma had plucked a strand of hair off of him. What was that for? Shivering, he thought of many possibilities the Akuma could do with his hair, including the theory on how she could turn it into a voodoo doll. He had to stop her! If only Ladybug was here. He could search one direction while Ladybug went the other way.

"Looking for me?"

Immediately, Chat Noir's entire guard was up. He faced towards the ground where the Akuma stood. "Y'know, I must tell you. Sitting in a tree doesn't really do the job of finding someone does it?"

"But it did lead you to me."

"Did it? Then you're gonna regret this." She thrusted her left arm in the air, and between her fingers it seemed she was clutching a strand of blond hair. _his_ hair. Chat Noir jumped down on instinct, and tried to hit her hand that was holding his hair with his staff. She pulled her arm away to dodge. Missed. "I was gonna go easy on you, but you made me quite angry. Too bad!" She thrusted her arm out again. He gulped, hoping what she is about to do wasn't as bad as he thinks it is. Even so, he was curious. What was she going to do with just a strand of hair?

A few seconds passed. Nothing. Was she just bluffing? Chat Noir looked around to see if anything was different. Suddenly, he felt tingles all over his scalp, and his head felt heavier and heavier as it tingled. Something soft wrapped around his arm and body, bonding them together. He felt it wrap tighter and tighter as he struggled. Looking down, he discovered it was his own hair doing this.

"My bad hair day is over as soon as I get everyone's hair worse than mines!" She opened her mouth to laugh again, but was interrupted by a kick in her back.

"Sorry I'm late."

Ladybug glared at the Akuma now on the floor trying to get up. Filled with joy, Chat Noir exclaimed, "Ladybug!" The red and black polka dotted heroine averted her gaze from the Akuma to Chat Noir. she smiled when she saw his face, but the corners of her mouth went back down when she saw the situation he was in. "Looks like someone's having a bad hair day." she chuckled, walking towards him to help. "Haha. Can you at least get me out of this hairy situation?"

Ladybug smiled at his joke. "Gladly."

She cut him loose through a hard shot with her arrow, but when she turned around the Akuma was gone. The two heroes gave a look towards each other, and only one word slipped out of their mouths.

"Oops."

* * *

Thanks for reading! There's a second part to this chapter because I realized it would be more than the word limit I usually put. Don't worry, I'll post the next chapter VERY soon. I know the exact story on what I'm going to write in this story, so I will update more quicker! I'm so sorry for the one year hiatus, I always hated it when fan fiction writers just don't finish their unfinished piece of works, so I'm not planning on doing that any time soon. I'll try my best to finish the whole story!

See you later!


	4. The Kitapper Part 2

"Let's get this over and done with." Ladybug sighed, hating how much time they had spent on trying to catch the hair-related villain. They were now facing the long, red haired Akuma, barely noticing them as she skipped around Paris happily plucking the hairs of random strangers. After they mistakenly took their eyes off her, they went for a wild goose chase, searching far and wide for the runaway Akuma. While they were searching though, Chat Noir told Ladybug of how the Akuma had plucked a strand of his hair, and using it had let her take control of the hair on his head.

While the Akuma was busy plucking people's hair and putting them in her bag, Ladybug took this chance, and yelled "Lucky Charm!". When she threw her arm in the air, a red jar of honey scattered with black dots appeared above her hand. "What're you gonna do, make honey bread?" Chat Noir remarked. "That's what I'd want to eat when this is all over." Ladybug muttered. She then looked at the Akuma. The villain noticed her and cackled. "Do you really think spilling this over my hair will help you?"

This only made Ladybug smirk. _Good, she hasn't figured out my plan yet._

She had to aim this just right. One miss could let the Akuma know what she was planning and ruin the whole thing. Taking a deep breath, she opened the jar of honey and placed it on the ground. She then flung her yoyo in the jar of honey, and swung it towards the Akuma's bag containing a whole nest of hairs. As Ladybug's yoyo successfully hit the bag, the Akuma smiled evilly and screeched "Ha! You missed!". But the job wasn't done just yet, as the honey did the rest of the job. It splattered all over the hairs in the bag, and even made a lot stuck to her yoyo. Seeing this, the ladybug-themed heroine pulled her yoyo back, along with the honey including the hairs stuck to it.

This had happen so quickly, without a moment for the Akuma to even react. During all of this, she looked like she was dumbfounded of what had happened, not expecting Ladybug to actually try and grab the hairs in her bag. Now she was powerless. She had nothing to control.

"Looks like we're stuck in a sticky situation." Chat Noir said as he snatched the hair-tie that was around the Akuma's wrist. He threw it to Ladybug, who catched it and ripped it apart. She smiled, adding onto his sentence. "Or rather, _you_." After the object was broken for a few seconds, as usual, a tiny black butterfly fluttered out of the object, and Ladybug caught it in her yoyo before it could fly anywhere else. She threw the jar of honey in the air and yelled her signature phrase, 'Miraculous Ladybug'. She then went to Chat Noir and fist-pumped him, signalling a job well done.

After a short while, everything was back to normal. The citizens of Paris continued their daily business as if nothing had happened. In front of Chat Noir and Ladybug, the ex-akumatized girl lied on the ground before groaning a little and getting back up. "You okay?" Ladybug asked her, lending her hand. The girl blushed and took it, standing up. "W-what happened? All I remember was people making fun of me for my funny looking hair, and the next thing I knew I was here."

Chat and Ladybug opened their mouths to explain, but was interrupted by the beeping of Ladybug's miraculous. "You been Akumitized, but don't worry. It's all over now!" Ladybug quickly explained. She and Chat Noir nodded at each other, then jumped in two directions, disappearing in the buildings.

Ladybug was about to go back to the palace, but remembered she was still supposed to be in the old abandoned tower Chat Noir had left her. Turning her direction, she leapt into the woods where the tower was located.

-one minute later-

As she leapt into the tower window, she detransformed, and a tired Tikki appeared before her. "As always, well done Marinette!" The ladybug kwami smiled at her through heavy breaths. Marinette smiled back and rested herself on a chair that was right beside the tower window. In about a minute she can expect Prince Adrien to appear and come save her.

-six minutes later-

Any minute now.

-thirty minutes later-

Did he forget?

By now Tikki was fully energized again, and they could go home now if they wanted to. If not, they would stay and wait for a while longer. Marinette chose the latter.

Unfortunately for her though, Prince Adrien wasn't there by the time the clock hit thirty minutes. Worried he might be in trouble, she asked if Tikki was ready to transform again before beginning the transformation sequence to Ladybug. She leaped out of the window of the old tower with enough confidence that you would think she could fly, and began soaring towards Prince Adrien's castle. When she passed her home, she caught a certain black cat in the corner of her eye. She was thinking of going to come back after assuring Prince Adrien's safety, but he seemed to be struggling against some castle guards near the castle entrance. _Her parent's_ castle guards. So she quickly hopped down, right behind the corner of the castle walls.

Preparing herself to handle this in costume, she fixed her hair and suit, and started to walk towards them. But the words from one of the castle guards, Quinta, caught her off guard.

"You may be a the famous Chat Noir known across all the lands, but that does not stop us from suspecting you as the Princess' kidnapper."

The other guard, who Marinette recognized as usually quiet spoke up as well.

"We also suspect your partner in crime is also responsible for the kidnappings of the princess as well."

Okay, bad idea. Maybe sometimes not everything can be solved through her Ladybug form. Good thing she has her princess side. She whispered the words 'Tikki, spots off', and within seconds, she was back in her silk pyjamas, the ones she was wearing the whole day. She walked around the corner almost immediately when she transformed back, and winked at Tikki to hide in her hair as she approached the guards. All three of them looked surprised to see her, especially Chat Noir.

"Marinette! You caught me off- _guard~_ " He joked, his eyes averting at the guards to see if they laughed.

She smiled in her head, but on the outside her facial features did not change. _Nice to see that you haven't changed, Chat Noir._

"P-princess! You are alright!" Quinta exclaimed, practically ignoring Chat Noir. The guard was about to hug Marinette, but remembered to remain professional and coughed awkwardly. Breaking the ice, the other guard informed Marinette that he would tell her parents of her arrival. Before he could go anywhere else, the princess stopped him and asked why they had Chat Noir in their custody in the first place.

"Princess, he is a suspect of kidnapping you. That is because everytime you've been kidnapped, there is always a piece of cheese missing from the kitchen areas, and this time we have managed to find a stack of golden hair and a few scratch marks on the wall near the cheese. We could only find one person with the correct skills, cat-like behaviour, and golden hair: Chat Noir." She _swore_ Chat Noir whispered "you mean purr-son..." under his breath.

 _That reckless cat! Has he been shedding hair, sharpening his claws, and swiping some cheese every time he kidnaps her?! What is the castle to him like, some kind of relaxing place for cats?_

She nodded towards them, genuinely impressed on how right they were. Improvising as she spoke, she told them how she was happy that they were so loyal to her, and thanking them for their loyalty to the kingdom. She then proceeded to have them give Chat Noir to her to take care of him herself. At first, the guards refused because they didn't want any trouble for the princess, but their refusal simmered down to hesitation when they saw Marinette's face slowly turn to disappointment.

They shoved Chat Noir towards Marinette, and bowed down before going back to their usual duties. Chat Noir stared at her, stunned. Marinette stared back. After several awkward seconds passed by them, the black cat hero fidgeted a little bit, feeling a bit nervous after just placing her in a tower against her will. He looked at her face to see if she was glaring at him, noticing she had the same freckles as his lady. It kind of looked _cute_. But of course not as cute as his lady.

"You know I'm still mad at you for kidnapping me and putting me in a tower."

Chat Noir could only chuckle, and decided to respond by apologizing. He was genuinely sorry, but he really couldn't think of any other way to protect a princess from an ongoing Akuma attack. "I'm really sorry, my princess. I really couldn't think of another way to ensure you were totally safe. How did you get out of the tower in the first place?" After hearing his question, the pyjama-dressed princess could only widen her eyes in surprise, forgetting the fact that nobody had saved her but Tikki. She quickly thought up of an explanation. "L-ladybug happened to stop by and save me." That was half true, Ladybug DID save her.

Chat Noir smiled and nodded, muttering "Of course, that's why she was late…"

"And -uh…- Are you going to show me to your parents now?"

"It's not needed, I already know my parents are behind this anyway."

"They are? No wonder it was always too easy to kidnap you."

Marinette knows that she should have felt offended, but ignored that feeling and instead let curiosity and surprise take over her emotions. "I'm just assuming, since they usually do these kinds of things. They can be a little… Protective."

Chat Noir's eyes sparkled a little, and the edge of his mouth curled up into a smile. "You have amazing parents. I barely know if mines even love me at all."

Marinette flinched. He rarely ever mentioned anything about his personal past behind the mask at all. The only time he's spoke about it was when she was in Ladybug form doing night patrol. She tried to comfort him with the same voice her parents uses when kissing her head right before bed. "I'm sure he does, but he shows it in a different way."

He hesitated for a split second and he smiled. "I hope so."

Another silence.

Chat Noir looked like he was about to give his goodbyes and leap off into the darkness, so Marinette interrupted him before he had to do anything. "Um.. I just wanted to know… Why did you want me safe in the first place? If it's not my parents, then who sent you?" He paused and thought for a moment. "I know this sounds silly," he began. This made Marinette stare at him with her big bluebell eyes in wonder.

"-I had a dream. I had a dream that my mother said to protect a princess with raven hair and light blue eyes. She didn't say it was you directly, but you were the only match I know. I know it's just a dream, but her voice. It was so real, she even sang out the words like an angel. I just know it's her. I _feel_ it's her." When he finished, his green orbs were glistening with a layer of tears. He noticed, and hid it with his claws, wiping them away. "Please understand, it was the only wish I had from my mom."

Marinette could only nod slowly. She wasn't expecting that. "I understand, I only wish you for the best with your parents. But can I request that you try a different way to protect me?-" She didn't know how to say it without sounding rude. "-without kidnapping me?" Chat Noir nodded. "I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone now. Just promise me you won't get hurt and will take care of yourself?" In response, the princess' lips curled into a smile.

"If you do that, I won't have to _kit_ nap you anymore~" Chat Noir slyly added. Marinette rolled her eyes, but her smiled stayed the same. It was nice to see Chat Noir's usual self.

"I hope we meet again as friends someday." She smiled, knowing that she was already very close with him in Ladybug form. It's a shame to keep it a secret, but at the same time it's fun. She wondered if she ever met Chat Noir in civilian form at all, too.

"I bid you farewell and good night, princess!" He yelled behind his back as he jumped into the darkness once again.

Although she was quite literally a princess, Marinette felt as if she had been complimented.

* * *

Chat Noir knew his transformation wouldn't run out as quick as his previous ones, as he hasn't used cataclysm at all. Although that were the case, he knew if he kept his Chat Noir form Plagg would have run out of energy and tire out anyway. He couldn't do that to him, even if he was a jerk sometimes. So as soon as he got far enough to not be able to see the Dupain-Cheung's castle, he de-transformed and decided to walk the way home.

"Geez! That was a tough ride, all I wanna do right now is eat some cheese."

"That's what you always want to do anyway." the newly transformed Prince Adrien stated as he passed a piece of cheese over his shoulder.

"Can't help myself! It's just so juicy!" Plagg yelped as he munched on the cheese. "Speaking of juicy, let's talk about something juicy... Seems to me this Marinette princess is _cute_ to you~" He teased, remembering his thoughts on the princess' freckles.

"It just reminds me of Ladybug, that's all. Besides, even if she's cute doesn't mean I like her. She's just a really nice friend. But I just wish she'd shown me more of her casual side with me like she did when I was Chat Noir."

"Deny, deny, deny. Won't change the fact that you thought about it. Anyway, don't you think you revealed too much about yourself? You literally just met her and _chatted_ with her as Chat Noir for the first time."

Adrien strugged. "It just seemed natural. I feel so at ease with her for some reason." They both reached the opening of Adrien's castle gates, and he waited for the guards to open it. His home was ten times bigger than Marinette's. After all, his father does own a lot of things, like a few million lands and countries.

Prince Adrien sighed to himself. He spent so much time with Marinette's parents, that he almost forgot that most of the time, he's always greeted by loneliness every time he enters the castle doors. He just wished he could talk to his dad. He just wished he could talk to his mom.

He just wished he had love.

As he entered the castle doors, all he could think of doing was to brush his teeth, take a shower, and go straight to bed. Same old, same old. His dad is probably doing some more paperwork, like he always says he does.

This night as he slide under the covers and rested his head on the fluffy pillow, he swore he could hear and feel his loving mother embrace his as she sang.

mon cher fils,

comment je t'aime

je veux te voir

comme Adrien et chat noir

mais ma mission n'est pas encore terminée.

Votre développement c'est...

très beau!


	5. New Friend Old News

"Chat Noir, she's behind you!"

 **I changed Ladybug's weapon into a bow and rope-attached arrow to match the story. Hope you guys don't mind! Oh, and sorry for the long and selfish haitus, I just have a tendency to forget. I'm really sorry, so please enjoy this medium chapter!**

* * *

Hearing Ladybug's alarm, Chat Noir jumped out of the way; just in time to miss a flying newspaper that was meant to hit him. "Ouch, that would've hurt!" He laughed, seeing her avenge him by slamming her leg behind the akuma's heel. Strands of the girl's brown hair flew out of place she fell, but without hesitation, she stood up again to face the heroes. "My news will become totally popular if I found out your true identities!" She yelled angrily, reaching for another roll of newspaper in her blue bag.

Both Marinette and Adrien had been woken up to the sound of explosions, which was coming from right smack in the middle of Paris.

Right now, they are in a really small cobble wall house owned by local citizens nice enough to let the heroes basically trash their home. (Ladybug couldn't help but feel sorry, even though she knew everything would be fixed at the end). The Akuma they're dealing with is Paper-girl, an Akuma with the power of using newspapers as her weapon. They just found out within one minute of meeting her, she had the power to trap anything her newspaper touches inside said newspaper.

Instead of throwing the newspaper, the Paper-Girl slowly raised her arm that wasn't holding it, and tiny black words and letters began to unstick themselves from the now blank page. This was the first time she's done this. Under her command, they grew bigger and bigger until it was the shape of her head. Then, she thrusted her arm forwards towards the worried-looking heroes. Luckily, they both managed to duck behind different furnitures just in the nick of time, but the letter "U" managed to hit Chat Noir's finger.

He hissed, quickly shaking his hand in pain. "Me-ow! he yelped, glaring at the Akuma. "Words can hurt you know!"

"Are you okay, Chat Noir?!" She exclaimed, not really sure if he was exaggerating or in serious pain. Immediately, his pained face turned into glee. "You care about me!" He cried smugly, slapping his hand on his chest with the other stretched out dramatically. "With such a dramatic pose like that, I'm actually questioning why you're out here protecting Paris when you could've been a famous actor." Ladybug commented. Chat Noir replied flirtatiously, telling her that he could never leave her alone with the risk of her finding another love interest. (Unfortunately for him, her love interest was Prince Adrien!)

Ladybug looked around to find something that would give her an idea on what to do.

 _'An Akuma... With the power to use newspaper to attack people…'_ She thought.

As her mind was wandering, it was suddenly interrupted by an image. The Akuma reminded her of Alya, a new friend whom she met during one of her morning strolls, accompanied by several castle guards. She then flash backed to their encounter. It was one experience she never forgot, and how scary a person can be with the wrath of a newspaper...

~ ~..

A group of people crowded around a girl with light copper skin and brown hair that glided down her back like curly waterfall. At first glance, it may seem as if a whole crowd of people were circling around a talented street performer, and were so amazed that they couldn't look away. But if you look closer, you would see that the crowd of people weren't entertained, but instead their faces were painted with anger, their brows pushing down, as if trying to move the location of their eyes downwards.

"Stand up, theif!"

"You did it, didn't you? You just don't want to admit it!"

"Peasant girl, peasant girl!"

Negative phrases and sentences could only be heard as the crowd spit out their frustrations and anger onto the girl. She was curled up in a ball on the ground, with the newspaper she was supposed to hand out scattered all across the floor. She hid between her knees, as if it would suddenly remove all the hatred around her. How had this situation become like this, she didn't know, she could only wait until all this was over.

Meanwhile while all this was happening, a certain wolf dressed in sheep's clothing, or rather, a certain _princess_ dressed in _peasant_ clothing was nearby,exploring the land. She couldn't see the newspaper girl, as the same crowd had blocked her view from the girl.

Nevertheless, the crowd caught her eye and she glided towards the big commotion. When she reached the crowd, she was surprised to find the people were angry. The princess then timidly pushed past the mob and the girl caught her eye. People around her kept on calling her a thief, but this really wasn't the right way to catch a thief, shouldn't they call the guards? The princess in disguise tried to hatch a plan to get the girl out of there, but at that moment of adrenaline rush, she could only think of one thing.

She removed her cloak.

Let it free from her shoulders. She really didn't have to say anything, everyone knew who she was.

"Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

Marinette sighed and hid it, she just wanted to have a day off from being a princess and go explore Paris. She hated how the cowardly people just stood there and look at the girl being bullied. Now they can't do nothing but stare more. "Y-your Majesty! This girl has been accused of stealing jewellery from that store." The person pointed towards a large jewellery store that made the other stores look like garbage dumps.

Even if that girl on the ground was a thief, she still couldn't tolerate this. Choosing to gain more respect by using formal language, she said: "Accused? You mean to tell me that you are kicking and bullying this poor girl just because of an accusation? Even if what you say is right, that is no way to achieve justice. Now please step away from her."

In a blink of an eye, the group of people who were surrounding the girl scattered away. Some even ran, for fear of receiving punishment. Marinette let them go, it wasn't her intention to punish them anyway. She then turned to the girl who was on the ground previously before, currently dusting herself off as she got up. The girl noticed the princess and sheepishly thanked her. Marinette smiled at her, and gently grabbed the girl's arm to lead her towards an alleyway isolated from the other villagers.

A second after they reached the destination, the girl immediately broke the silence. "Thanks for getting me out of there. How much do I owe you?" Marinette was about to reply and say it's not needed, but her heart dropped when she saw the girl take out a handful of jewellery.

"Which one?" She asked casually, dragging her finger across the sparkling gems.

What.

Did she just-

"Actually," Marinette began, "It's no need. She decided to pry for details. "For what reason did you steal them for?"

"I'm not _stealing_ , I'm just borrowing. I need this to earn money for my family. I heard it sells a lot of gold."

It's _that_ kind of stealing? Marinette paused to think what she had to do next. This was such a huge mistake. But maybe if she knew the reason...

"Well, I would like to question you regarding a scenario. Would you stop stealing if you had a well paying job?"

"Duh. It's not as if I want to live a life as a smuggling thief."

"Then," Marinette turned around, back facing the girl. "-welcome to the castle." She smiled, and motioned her hands toward a carriage that had appeared before them while they were busy talking. She looked at the brunette girl for her reaction. She received a really confused look that matched her expectations. But after a few seconds the confused look melted into annoyance.

"Haha, very funny. You want them or what? I need to get back home before sundown."

This made Marinette really surprised. Was she not princess-y enough? What more did she have to do to get through to this girl? Answering her question, her trusted guards flooded the alleyway, making it no longer a lonely place. "Princess Marinette!" They all bowed down, their knees touching the ground to show respect.

"W-wha... We... You..." Her finger shook at Marinette, as if she was pointing at an invisible fly buzzing around. Even her eyes were shivering, which surprised Marinette because she didn't know that people could do that.

"I do not usually do these kind of services, but you are indeed worthy of saving." The raven-haired princess struggled, adventuring for a cool way to ease the awkward tension. She was telling the truth about not usually doing this, but honestly, the reason was because when you have a life at the castle that is filled with over-protective guards and parents, you don't really get this opportunity to save someone from a life of crime. (She had read a book on some superhero saving someone and treating it as no big deal, it sounded so cool!)

Instead of an apology, more confusion or whatever, all Marinette could receive next was a roll of newspaper. No, scratch that, a STORM of newspaper rolls colliding with her body left and right. She tried her best to dodge, her agility failing her as she jumped around, while the some of the newspapers still managed to hit her. "W-wha?" She stammered. Out of her state of confusion, she forgot to speak in her formal language. It was her turn to be surprised and confused.

"This is a dream! There is no way a random person claiming to be the princess OF PARIS would come up to me and welcome me, a common thief, into her castle! No way!" The girl loudly muttered to herself, as if she was trying to convince her brain. She was flaming her arms around, as if the grabbing air around her would help her confusion.

Wow. This girl just keeps on throwing her surprises.

"Whatever reason are you throwing these at me for?" Marinette cried while dodging the newspaper being hurled towards her.

"To see if this is a dream!" She said matter-of-factly, as if this was a normal situation.

"S-shouldn't you be PINCHing yourSELF?!" She realized her language wasn't as "princess-y" anymore, but didn't bother, as politeness won't reason with this girl. She also did not understand the context of this situation, because for what reason would a person throw newspaper towards someone else if they think they're dreaming?

"You don't understand! This happened in a newspaper comic about a hero, she saved someone and treated it as no big deal!" The peasant girl exclaimed, then paused to realize who she was talking to. She gestured her arms towards the frightened princess, and continue babbling "Why am I even explaining this to you, this is not real anyway."

Marinette stopped trying to dodge the newspaper, and stayed still, not even flinching when a roll hit her on the face. "Are you talking about Madame Paon?" She asked quietly, creating a quiet atmosphere. The girl freezed her newspaper-hurling frenzy, and stared at the princess. "Yes. Madame Paon." She replied, just as quiet as Marinette. They stared at each other.

"mMADAME PAON?!" They both squealed, suddenly.

"You read it?"

"Oh my gosh yes! I thought no one else did!"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You were busy throwing newspapers at me, remember?"

"Hahah, oh yeah, I have a tendency to do that when I'm nervous. Sorry….." The newspaper girl trailed off, eying the discarded pieces of paper on the floor. She sheepishly smiled at Marinette, and they continued on rambling about the "Madame Paon" comic. Eventually as they talked, they delved into personal topics, helping them grow closer together. They continued talking, forgetting there was a carriage next to them, much to the coachman's disappointment. The coachman, deciding he had to wait until they stopped talking, climbed inside the carriage. As they talked, they noticed they haven't exchanged names yet. Turns out the girl was named-

"Alya." She said almost hesitantly.

Marinette nodded, beaming. "It's a beautiful name!" she said, taking the words into heart. This made Alya blush in embarrassment. "I think it sounds too simple and dumb." She replied. "Well, girl with a so-called "too simple and dumb" name, would you like to have a job in my castle?" Marinette asked, hoping Alya could take the chance to stop being a thief. This made Alya stare at her in amazement. "You were actually serious." She stated questionably, widening her eyes as she did so. Seeing the serious look on the princess' face, Alya smirked. "Okay, as long as you let me do all the work I have to fulfill."

"Deal." Marinette replied, taking out her expensive gloved hand.

"Deal."

~ ~..

"Ladybug? Bugaboo? Are you here? Hellooooo? Keep staring into space if you find me attractive." Chat Noir jokily said as he waved his claws in front of Ladybug's face. Almost immediately, Ladybug snapped back into reality. "Wow, you didn't have to be THAT serious." Chat Noir remarked, almost disappointedly. "Sorry Chat Noir, I had some kind of flash to the past just now."

"Nevermind that! Look out!" He cried, stretching out a claw towards Paper-girl hurling towards them. "AGHHHHHHH!" She screamed out as she frantically tried to hit the heroes with her newspaper rolls. "I can't see where the Akuma is located with all these newspaper flying around!" The polka-dot masked heroine complained. As she dodged around, she kept her eyes fixated onto the Akumatized girl, searching for said Akuma. "Wait-" Chat Noir shouted between the flying newspapers. "I think I have an idea! You see how she threw so many newspapers around, yet she never used the one clutched in her hand?" Hearing his observation, Ladybug concentrated on Paper-girl, and widened her eyes. "You're right! Nice going, Chat!"

The black cat hero smirked, pride filling his veins. "So what's the plan?" He asked. Ladybug managed to speak through the whizzing newspapers, wincing every time one came close to touching her. "I'll throw out my lucky charm and we'll improvise a plan from there." Chat Noir nodded, and used a small table to block himself from the attacks, waiting for his lady to do her signature move. While he did so, he admired her bravery and confidence in them. She shot out her arrow in the sky, and black and red sparks began to dance around it in the air. Suddenly before her, a bucket appeared. "What are we gonna do, collect some milk?" Chat Noir casually remarked. "No, but it will do you some good if you don't make fun of every single thing my lucky charm power produces!" Ladybug scanned the room in search for something she can do. She stopped when she saw the newspapers. "Chat Noir, be a good kitty and stay safe until I come back!" He could only watch her run out the cottage's door, and set his eyes back on Paper-girl again. "Great, now I'm stuck with Ms. Crazy."

He gripped the small table in front of him. It was the only barrier between him and her, so he backed away slowly. Surprisingly, the Akuma was only interested in staring at him, and seized her newspaper-throwing frenzy. Suddenly, she started moving. "So….." She purred, like a cat cornering a mouse (which is ironic, because y'know, Chat Noir is supposed to be a cat). She slyly circled him, each step she took terrifyingly slow. "Now that we're alone, what's up with you and Ladybug? Anything…." She got dreadfully near, her eyes stabbing into his. "…special?" Chat Noir wanted so hard for what Papergirl seems to be suggesting was true. All he could do was watch her every movement as he said nothing. "Oh, are you too shy to say anything? Or perhaps nothing happened?" She emphasized on the word 'nothing', making Chat Noir feel the pain. He didn't want to admit what Paper-girl said was true, but he respected his Lady. If she doesn't feel that way, he wouldn't ever force her.

"I can make your fantasy into a real news. A BREAKING news even. All you have to do is simply touch my newspaper-" She looked down, wagging the roll clutched in her hand. "-and it'll come true."

For only a second, Chat Noir considered touching it. 'What'll happen if I do? It will all be fixed anyway.' He thought. His claw lingered shakily for a moment, and he quickly put it back down. 'W-what am I doing? She told me to stay safe!' The black-themed hero then took out his black sword and spun it around, making Paper-girl jump back. "Are you refusing my offer? You dumb cat!" Chat Noir snapped back, "You're the dumb one, who would want to read some crazy chick's newspaper?" Hearing this, Paper-girl angrily lunged at the hero, taking his light-hearted comment offensively.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a sudden disturbance. "Hope you didn't miss me~" Ladybug shouted in mock cheerfulness. "About time!" Chat Noir said out of breath, dodging another one of the Akuma's attacks. The red and black heroine didn't waste a beat and ~SPLASH!~ down came the newspapers. "That's your plan? You got anything more funny up your sleeve?" the Akuma cackled, pulling up the sleeve of the newspaper-clutched arm. "Technically yes." Ladybug smirked. She steadily stretched the string of the bow, and released immediately. With that, the arrow stabbed against Paper-Girl's newspaper. It disappeared as soon as the arrow made impact.

Within a matter of seconds, everything shifted. The position of the Akuma changed; she wasn't the cat cornering the mouse anymore. Instead, it was the other way around. She was the mouse now. In front of the heroes, the former Paper-girl knelt down, the dark magic dissolving from her. She stayed like this for 10 seconds, regaining back her conscious. She slowly looked up, and when her eyes met theirs, she jumped up, and looked like she regretted doing that as she rubbed her head afterwards. "WHAT."

The two heroes looked at each other and then looked at her. "What?"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" She squealed, her inner-fangirl gushing out from hiding. Ladybug sighed and shook her head, 'This is what I'd expect from Alya.' she thought. She was about to talk to her as if she was in her original form, but stopped herself before anything could happen. 'I really need to remember I have two identities!' Ladybug scolded herself. "You should really be careful with your news-delivering. What happened that turned you into this form?"

"My whole village has been Akumatized, just so you know. Oh, and by the way can I get your autographs?" Alya asked hopefully.

Silence.

"YOUR WHOLE VILLAGE?!"


	6. The Kraken

They were already in the village in what seemed like seconds. Ladybug had lead the way, mysteriously knowing where Alya's village was without being notified. Chat Noir noticed this and kept this as a note to himself. There's a high chance that Ladybug knows Alya, and it might be one clue behind her mask.

The air that was once warm and dewy became cold and crisp. It filled his lungs, making chills shiver up his spine. He had been flighting Akumas long enough to sense they were near. As they reached the village entrance, Ladybug saw a poster hammered onto the pole of the entrance, stared at it, and shoved it into a pocket hidden under her cape top. This happened all too quickly for Chat Noir to even ask what was on the poster. Instead of focusing on that, he looked into the village.

Much to his surprise, nothing looked suspicious in the village. It was just like any other; humble, small, quiet. He could hear the rustling of carriage wheels rolling on the ground, and the symphonies of the street musicians harmonizing with the normal daily lives of the village. A bearded man was pushing a cart full of apples which looked like glowing red orbs in the sun, children were playing together, and there were small little stalls selling fresh goods. The only difference was that the villagers' expressions looked…. Off. They all looked like they had no emotions at all. Chat looked towards Ladybug, which in turn looked at him. She squinted her eyes, then raised her eyebrow at him and turned around, ready to ask Alya where the problem was.

But in the place of where Alya was supposed to be, Chat Noir can't help but imagine blinking dotted lines in the shape of the brunette girl's body, signalling the sudden disappearance of her. "Where did she-" Ladybug was cut off by a projected scream. "HELP!" a voice screamed that dripped with fear. The heroes didn't need much time to put two and two together. They both jumped to their backs, and saw an expected sight, Alya. But what was unexpected was that she was clutched around a large, black tentacle. It was waving around behind a few huts in the village, but the villagers remained expressionless, deaf to the fact that there was a giant, waving tentacle behind them. They were still continuing their daily lives.

The tentacle is what you might get if you combine the kraken with shadows. It was translucent, and Chat Noir can see Alya's squirming body through the tentacle.

She was still screaming, much to the monster's demise. Chat Noir could tell it was demise because of the way the tentacle was waving her around, as if it wanted to shut her up. He trailed his eyes along the tentacle, hoping he could trace it back to where it's 'roots' were.

Chat Noir weighed his options. Both him and Ladybug have never seen this monster before, and god knows what the thing would do if he got too close to it. He watched the monster increase its flailing around, making him more frantic to decide what to do. Should he rescue Alya first and risk harming her? Or should he trace the black tentacle back to its roots and risk harming her?

 _'ARGH!'_ Chat Noir thought. _'This is so difficult!'_ He stretched his arms out, emphasizing his frustration. If anyone else was near by, they would've stared at him in amusement. He looked back at Ladybug, and from her shrunken blue pupils that were following the tentacle's exact moves, he could tell she was having a crisis deciding as well. Then as if her fear magically vanished away, Ladybug straightened herself up. She tilted her head towards Chat Noir, and calmly spoke.

"Chat, I'm going to go take care of this tentacle. Do you mind finding the source of this problem? I'll join you afterwards."

Then without hesitation, she lifted her arm holding the famous Ladybug bow and shot her arrow. Chat Noir could feel a blush creeping onto his cheeks, but urged it away by thinking of rescuing the villagers. _'This is no time to be admiring her!_ ' He loudly thought to himself. Realizing he had spoke out loud, he quickly covered his mouth with his claws.

Thankfully Ladybug (and anyone, really) was already out of earshot.

Ladybug's heart couldn't beat any faster, save for the times she spoke to Adrien. Her arrow- followed by the rope attached to it- had circled around the tentacle, helping her hoist herself up upon the black thing. If she messes this one up, she could lose Alya- her one and only best friend she's ever had. Blue beads of sweat twinkled down her cheeks as she latched on to the monster.

She could hear Chat Noir say something from behind her, but she couldn't distinguish what it was. She did a sideways glance, and could also see him flailing his arms around, which made her giggle alittle, easing her panic. He was always so expressive. That was one thing she admired about him. She wouldn't be surprised if the most loudest and daring person she meets would turn out to be Chat Noir.

She refocused her attention back to the tentacle with more confidence. For some reason, It looked smaller than it was before. Still, It was still disgustingly latched onto Alya, who was beginning to shout in a not so formal language. Between her frustrated yelling, she saw Ladybug and her face immediately brightened up. "My first time being rescued by Ladybug! At least my day hasn't been fully horrible." She stated, as if she wasn't being held by a monster that could kill her at any second. She took her camera (which was the newest model, Alya would brag), and spun it so it faced towards her. She slung her arm around Ladybug, and pressed the button even though the hero was holding a confused facial expression. When it flashed, she waited for the photo to print out, and delicately held it between her forefinger and thumb for it to dry.

"You like it? I'm going to call this type of photo a 'selfie'!"

While this was all happening, Ladybug realized the tentacle was already gone before she could even strike it. "W-where did it go?!" Ladybug exclaimed. If the tentacle slipped away, she was in big trouble. It could be anywhere. Alya looked at Ladybug, fingers still latched onto the photo and shrugged. "It kind of dissolved away after I saw you. I forgot about it completely."

Hearing this, Ladybug thought to herself. _'What kind of Akuma is this? It can dissolve away after…. After…..'_ She squinted her eyes, and they widened immediately when she found the solution. _'When I wasn't concentrating on being scared that thing, it got smaller. When Alya got distracted from it because of me, it completely disappeared! Could this monster be dependent on fear? I need to tell Chat Noir!'_

She grabbed her best friend's arm, and pulled her towards a nearby cottage. "Stay here! You'll be safe!"

Before Alya could protest, Ladybug was already out of sight.

* * *

The tentacle grew bigger and bigger as Chat Noir raced towards it. His arms and legs moved in synchronized movements as he ran. As his green eyes traced along the monster, he didn't notice a wailing little girl in the distance until he was close enough to hear her cries. When he did, the Black Cat Hero stopped dead in his tracks, and knelt down in front of the girl, his paw on the ground. "Are you okay?" He asked softy.

"No!-" She cried. "-Momma and Papa aren't themselves anymore and they're being zombified! I'm scared.." The little girl rubbed her eyes and embraced Chat Noir. The hero, surprised by the sudden gesture, could only awkwardly pat her back as she sobbed. "Well, what's your name?" She lifted her little head and stared up at Chat Noir. "Manon..."

"Manon? That's such a pretty name! Only princesses have such a pretty name! Are you a princess?"

The edges of Manon's lips slowly curled up into a smile. "No, silly! I'm Manon!" She gleefully bounced her head up and down, like any normal child would when presented with candy.

"Do you know why your momma and papa got zombified?" Chat Noir asked, awkwardly having the word 'zombified' roll off his tongue. Manon started to shake her head, but paused when she looked like she thought of something. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she turned to Chat Noir. "They got zombified because they were scared of the Kraken! But I told them he's a good squid."

"Kraken?" Chat Noir's eyes looked up forwards in the sky, still seeing the monster tentacle waving around the same place it had been. "Princess, are you talking about that?" He pointed towards it, a bit anxious the girl may be akumatized just by looking at it. She tilted her head skywards, looked at it unfazed. "Yup! He's my friend." She nodded frantically, her brown pigtails bouncing up and down. "I have a doll of him! He's really cuddly and good to sleep with. Do you want me to get him? My house is over there!"

Chat Noir nodded, looking at the excited child as she ran back towards her home.

"Chat Noir!" A strong voice sang behind him. Chat Noir turned to see Ladybug running towards him as fast as she could. He smirked, and did an exaggerated bow. "M'lady! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I found the reason why all the villagers are acting weird and expressionless. They're afraid of the giant tentacle, and I think it feeds off from their fear." She reached under her polka-dotted cape top, and retrieved a crumpled piece of paper. It was the same paper she grabbed from the village entrance. She unscrambled it, and held it in front of Chat Noir's face. "This poster might be the root of their fear. Someone might have saw something unusual and assumed it was the Kraken." Chat Noir rubbed his claw on his mask. "That explains why Mano- a little girl that I met wasn't acting weird. She wasn't scared of the monster."

As if on que, Manon ran in front of the two heroes, clutching a small, ragged, indigo octopus doll in her hand. "This is Krakey!"

Ladybug stared at Manon for a moment before leaning towards Chat Noir. "We need to get Mano- I mean, this _girl_ to safety, and then destroy the Kraken. I think that'll solve everyone from being afraid."

"No! I won't let you hurt Krakey! He did nothing wrong!" Manon pouted, interrupting Ladybug's plan. "I won't let you. You're mean! I like kitty better." She repeated once again, her lower lip sticking out as she crossed her arms. Ladybug covered her mouth, stifling her laughter, trying not to laugh at the nickname she gave Chat Noir. "How about I, I mean, _kitty_ gives you a piggy back ride so you make sure we don't harm it?" Chat Noir suggested, knowing it won't be safe for her to stay here alone. At first, Ladybug looked like she was about to say something against the idea, but stopped herself. She nodded at Chat Noir, then ran towards the monster.

Holding Manon's legs tight, Chat Noir followed behind her, running a bit slower than usual. Both heroes gave a pitter-pattering noise as their feet impacted against the pavement again and again until they reached the source of the mysterious tentacle. When they reached it, Chat Noir was amazed at what he saw. In the centre of the whole village sat a giant body, it's tentacles reaching everywhere. It's eyes were bulging out, as if they wanted to be separated from the squid. He walked up to his Lady, and asked if they should use their powers already. Ladybug shook her head, and gestured towards Manon, who was in the moment interesting in braiding Chat's hair.

"Look, Manon! Krakey!" Ladybug said, pointing towards the squid. This made the little girl gasp in excitement, and she bounced down from Chat Noir, forgetting she was still gripping onto his hair. "Owowowowowww…." Chat Noir complained. He knelt down as she slid off, trying to reduce the pain of her hair-grabbing. When she was off, Manon ran towards the squid before Chat Noir could catch her, and hugged it as hard as she could.

In mere seconds, the apparent Akuma shrank down in an abnormally fast rate until it popped. In place of the squid was a black butterfly, frantically fluttering away. Ladybug lifted up her arrow and shot it, purifying the butterfly instantly. Chat Noir walked up to her and slinked his arm around her. "You planned that all along, didn't you?" He said, watching the shimmering ladybugs returning everything back to their normal state. "Not really, I didn't actually think you would bring a little girl along in our adventure. You're actually good father material, despite all your jokes and antics."

"The more the reason we should have kids together, you and I!"

Ladybug smirked. "I don't think I want miniature minous running around my home." She paused, and flicked the small braid that was on Chat's head. Giggling, she said, "By the way, I really like your hairdo!"

"W-why is it not reverted back to normal by your ladybugs?" He yelped, just realizing the braid was still there. He prodded at the bundle of hair, unfamiliar to the feeling.

"It doesn't need reverting, it looks fine just the way it is." She teased.

Chat Noir glared at her and started to untie it, continuing to look at the village repairing itself. "I didn't think Hawkmoth was capable of using people all at once. I don't like to say it, but I think I underestimated him." He stated, remembering how all the villagers were controlled just by one akuma.

"Yeah, we have to be more careful from now on. I'm thinking he's testing the limitations of his powers."

She turned to smile at Chat. "But to be honest, who said he was a man? If 'he'-" Ladybug stated with quotation marks, "-managed to get our miraculouses, he'd have to go through the procedure of punching his ears in just to wear my earrings!" She giggled, imagining a middle age man going through the painful process. "Why do you have earrings all of a sudden Mr. Hawkmoth?" Chat Noir said, imitating an exaggerated man with a confused look on his face. He playfully switched to another side and looked serious. "-This is for a good cause. Once I get what I want, this will all be worth it! Mwahahahaha!"

Chat Noir's impression of Hawkmoth made both of them roar with laughter, falling to the ground as they rolled around, clutching their sides. They laughed for thirty seconds, tears spewing from their eyes. Once it slowly ceased, Ladybug wiped a tear off her mask and said, "I get one piece of gold if Hawkmoth turns out to be a woman. You'll receive the same if he's a man. Deal?" She held out a fist, and Chat Noir collided it with his own. "Deal."

Since the two of them didn't use their powers and had a lot of time to spare, they decided to lay on the eiffel tower just to admire the view of the kingdom below, while watching over it. Laying down on the metallic bars was not as comfortable as they had hoped, but they collected leaves beforehand to lay on top of. Night fell when they reached the metal tower, a blanket of stars covering the sky. They shimmered and gleamed as the two partners talked to each other. Once in a while, a cool breeze would sweep through the heroes' hair as they talked, but they didn't mind it.

"Do you ever get overwhelmed by all the responsibility you have to overcome when you're Chat Noir and a civilian?" Ladybug asked after a long silence of stargazing. A long silence grew after that, and she could guess he was thinking about it. Chat Noir sighed, a faint smoke escaping his lips.

"Yes, but I'm thankful for it. I think this is the only chance I have to be free. You'd be surprised at how different I am with my civilian form." He replied. Ladybug stared out in the darkness, and thought back to when Chat Noir talked to her as Marinette.

(Chapter 4)

 _Marinette knew that she should have felt offended, but ignored that feeling and instead let curiosity and surprise take over her emotions. "I'm just assuming, since they usually do these kinds of things. They can be a little… Protective."_

 _Chat Noir's eyes sparkled a little, and the edge of his mouth curled up into a smile. "You have amazing parents. I barely know if mines even love me at all."_

 _Marinette flinched. He rarely ever mentioned anything about his personal self behind the mask at all. The only time he's spoke about it was when she was in Ladybug form doing night patrol. She tried to comfort him with the same voice her parents uses when kissing her head right before bed. "I'm sure they do, but they show it in a different way."_

 _He hesitated for a split second and he smiled. "I hope so."_

"Chat Noir." Ladybug began, sitting up straight, staring at the now startled hero. "You're not just my partner that helps me fight, you're also my friend. I want you to know that no matter whatever crisis you're in, I'll always be here to help and support you." She placed her ladybug-spotted hand on top of his. Chat Noir hesitated for a moment before looking at Ladybug. Blue met green as they stared into each others eyes. For Chat Noir, it felt as if Nino's trumpet was blasting music in his ear in a hormonic rhythm, until he realized it was his own heart beating. It felt as if the blanket of stars that were just shimmering around them seemed to shimmer even more.

"L-ladybug…" He began, fumbling for words to say. He reached for her other hand and grabbed it, pulling her closer to him. Their fingers intertwined even more, and their palms clasped even tighter. The more time passed, the more heat he could feel rise in his cheeks. Ladybug could only look at him, curious as to what he was about to say. _'She's so close to me ohmygodshesmellslikecookies'_ He thought, blushing even more. "I-" He paused, taking a deep breath. She smiled. "-I'm so happy that I have someone to count on, thank you Ladybug."

Chat Noir mentally slapped himself, and he could feel Plagg kicking him.

"I-it's growing a lot darker now, shall we say our farewells?" He said as he stood up, stretching his arms out. He held out a hand for Ladybug to hold, but she stood up by herself anyway. She gave him a reassuring smile, and stood on the edge of the tower "See you next time, minou! It was nice." She shouted, taking out her bow and arrow. The hero took one shot, and off she went into the darkness.

Looking at the space where Ladybug once was, Chat sighed and took the circle of rope tied onto his belt, secured it on the Eiffel tower, and leaped.

"What was that?!" Plagg yelled immediately after Adrien transformed. They were both sitting on Adrien's king-sized bed in his bedroom. The lights were off, so the room was packed in darkness. The whole castle was dark, and everyone was sleeping. Except for the night-patrol guards and the prince himself. Adrien gripped onto his baby blue blue pillow and screamed into it, before answering Plagg. "I don't know! I got nervous, and I'm scared it'll ruin our relationship that we already have!" The infuriated kwami flew in front of Adrien's face and let out an angry huff. "WHAT relationship? There **could** have been one if you had the guts to tell her!" The blonde prince pushed the Kwami aside before screaming into his pillow once more. After a few seconds, he sprang up. "Why do you care anyway? Isn't the only thing that you care about is your stinky cheese?"

"It is! But it's really agitating when you think about doing something but didn't go through with it!" The kwami yelled back, crossing his arms.

Tired of pillow-screaming, Adrien laid onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. "She doesn't seem interested in me anyway. I keep flirting with her but I don't get any response back in return." He sighed. Plagg laid down next to the tired prince. "Kid. Although I don't care about your romances…. Why don't you try telling her during the ball? Didn't your dad invite Ladybug and Chat Noir as the guest of honour?" He suggested. He suddenly felt warmth around him, and realized it was Adrien hugging him. He waited for a few seconds, but the prince still didn't let go.

"Kid? KID! Let me go!" He panicked. "I WANT TO EAT MY BEAUTIFUL CHEESE!" Unfortunately for Plagg, said 'kid' was already fast asleep.

* * *

A woman, with blonde hair and hazel green eyes dressed in a long, green dress that fades into blue at the bottom stood gazing at a screen, sighing to herself. The screen consisted of a certain blond prince that was soundly asleep, hugging a black Kwami. The prince was happily snoring, while the kwami slept, pushing away the arms that were embracing it.

She knew she shouldn't use her powers just to look at her son, but she couldn't help it.

She needed more time to fix her broken family, but she just didn't know how. Her fingers brushed against her green and blue peacock brooch. She was lucky to have a miraculous that allows her to communicate with her love ones even when she's….. Not there. She could see glimpses into the future, but she was too anxious that she might lead them down the wrong path just because of a careless message she gives in their dreams. Every message she gives, every dream she enters, drains even a little bit of her powers. She's running out of time.

At least she told Adrien to protect the princess with raven hair and light blue eyes. The princess was important. The woman hopes this ends well.

* * *

 **WHYY WHY DIDN'T CHAT CONFESS? I wanted him to, but I know confessing is hard, even for a flirt like him. The good news is that the confession is reserved for the ball! YAY! (Just saying, alot of things are gonna happen at the ball. Be prepared~) next chapter is a chill out chapter, that miiiight include chloe.**

 **Welp, See you next time! Please review, follow, or favourite. It really motivates me to write! Thanks!**


	7. It's a date?

HIAF Chapter 7

 **Hey guys, NYAN HERE! I'm ready to update once a week, since I know where I'm headed with the story. I'm so excited to finally let off the story that's been stuck in my head for months! I really hope you guys enjoy.**

 **By the way, I'm thinking of adding people who reviews to my story in the guest list of the ball! If you want to be included, just review and say that you want to be invited XD**

* * *

It's a date?!

The sun shone in a bright early morning, the morning dew sparkling in the sunlight's embrace. It was a perfect day for going outdoors, and a perfect day to roam the village market. A certain princess was with her best friend, taking advantage of this beautiful day to explore the kingdom. If any normal person would take a moment to glance at these two strangers, they wouldn't think much of it, as they would only see these two as normal peasants roaming the market. Marinette would prefer spending the outdoors without a giant ragged hood around her, trapping the heat of summer. She was slightly envious of Tikki hiding in a pocket hidden in the dress that she made herself. But she knew better, this was the only way to roam the streets without anyone noticing. As they walked, the concealed princess couldn't help lifting her hood often to fan herself, releasing some of the heat trapped inside.

Alya and Marinette had immediately went out the day she came back from visiting her grandmother. The two agreed beforehand to look for their dresses for the ball that was only a few days away. While they were walking, Alya filled Marinette in with the details of her encounter with Ladybug.

"...So as I was saying, LADYBUG was there rescuing me when I was trapped in this giant tentacle. It was so scary! But after she rescued me, she put me in this random hut. Thankfully the owners were kind enough to understand."

Marinette's eyes widened, remembering that she forgot her friend after the akuma attack. She had been too busy talking to Chat Noir in the Eiffel Tower! Remembering that moment, she also noted that he was acting pretty weird. He was quieter than usual. "You? Scared? Aren't you the same person who ran into an Akuma attack?" She inquired. If fate had been switched and Alya got the miraculous, Marinette thought she would be no problem being Ladybug.

"Hahah, that is true. Oh girl look!" Alya pointed towards a small boutique. It was classy and simple, with the colour lavender painted over the marble walls. The words "Elana's closet" were seen right under the roof, etched in the walls in cursive. Small, velvet bows decorated the top of the door, greeting every visitor as if saying "welcome in!"

The two girls exchanged excited glances, before entering the shop. Inside, layers upon layers of outfits flooded the room. It was so colourful, it's as if a rainbow happened to transform into hundreds of dresses. Alya squealed as she picked out a green mermaid dress. She held it in front of Marinette, and giggled at the sight. "How would you walk in this?" She laughed, hanging the dress back to its original place. Marinette giggled, and the two continued joking around with the dresses until they saw a sight that made them stop. "A-Adrien!" Marinette gasped. As soon as she saw him, the princess immediately whizzed behind a nearby wall, her back facing towards it. Alya took notice, sighed and walked towards Marinette.

"What are you doing girl..."

Marinette peeked behind the wall for a slight moment before hiding again. "I don't know how to start a conversation! What do I say? 'The clothes here are nice'? 'I really like your outfit'?" Alya laughed at her best friend's silliness. "How do you start a conversation? Just say hi!" She replied matter-of-factly. The brunette looked back at Adrien and noticed he was showing some clothing to a certain servant, who looked like he was commenting on how said clothing looked like. "-speaking of conversations... I'm about to start one with my prince right now even if you aren't~"

 _Wait. Her prince?_ "Alya! Wait!" Marinette complied. But it was too late, the brunette was already right behind the prince. Marinette nervously bit her nails, preparing for any embarrassment that was about to happen.

"Hey Nino~" Alya sang, suddenly gripping the servant's shoulders. Nino jumped at the sudden gesture. He turned around to see Alya, who was giggling at his surprise. "A-alya! What are you doing here?"

The servant girl put her hands on her hips and nodded towards Marinette, who immediately stopped looking at them and started to pretend to look at dresses. "I'm bringing my fair princess here to find a dress for the ball." Nino smiled and nudged his head towards Prince Adrien, who was wearing a large straw hat barely covering his eyes. "Same here." Under his hat, he smiled politely at Alya.

Alya widened her eyes and immediately did a curtsey, her head low. "S-sorry your majesty, I forgot!"

"No need, Alya. As of today, I'm just a normal citizen that lives in this village. You don't even have to bow if we're not in front of other people, too." Adrien reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Alya let out a sigh and relief and stood up. "That's a relief. And hey, what a coincidence! Marinette's here as a peasant as well." From a close distance, the princess took this chance to walk in. She took a deep breath and shuffled beside Alya. "H-hey." Her bluebell eyes shyly brushed past the prince, before locking them into his eyes. "Hey, Marinette!" He said, waving at her.

"Well, since we're all together, how about we all have a double date?" Alya suggested, linking her arm around Nino. She turned her head and winked at Marinette in an angle that only the princess could see."Double date?!" Marinette exclaimed, her face turning extremely flustered. ' _I don't have the right outfit! I haven't prepared myself yet! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-'_ But of course nobody could hear her, as what she said was only in her head. She nervously glanced at Adrien, who seemed up for the idea. "Sure! But shall we find our outfits first?"

The four of them scattered across the shop, searching for their perspective gowns and suits. As they searched, Marinette scooted over to Alya and whispered to her. "Do you know Nino?-" She asked. "-I only knew him from Adrien."

" _Know_ him? We're in love!"

"Why didn't you tell me?! I'm so happy for you!" The princess exclaimed, hugging her friend. Alya smiled at Marinette. "I don't think I had the time, I wasn't really sure of it either." At this moment, the brunette spotted a long, poofy orange gown. It was strapless, and had black flowers decorating the top and the bottom of the dress. One flower was especially large, it bloomed on the top of the dress on the left side. She unhung it from the rack and stared at it. "I love it!" She exclaimed. But she twisted her hand along with the dress, and saw the price tag. She flinched, and hung it back. "Nevermind. I'll just make my own."

Marinette shook her head. "No, I'll pay for you." Alya gave a hard look at the princess like it was a normal answer from Marinette, and shook her head. "Nuh uh! You've done so much for me already. I'll just stitch it by myself."

"No, Alya! This is just a birthday present for you."

"My birthday's in seven months!"

"I-I meant your first birthday! I wasn't there." Marinette argued.

Alya looked at Marinette, her eyebrow raised and eyes half lidded.

"I'll make you work extra harder at the castle then!"

Alya sighed, and smiled. "Fine, I'll accept it." She knew Marinette wouldn't make her work harder, but knowing the princess' stubbornness, she knew better than to resist any longer. Marinette smiled and ushered her to try the dress on. The princess herself had already found a dress perfect for her to wear, so she went into the changing room next to Alya's. When she was finished changing, Tikki peeked out from her folded dress and gave a small smile. "You look wonderful, Marinette!"

"Thanks Tikki."

Feeling more confident, she pushed past the curtains and looked to her right, seeing Alya was already done.

Adrien had already finished trying on his suit while the girls were talking, and he had to say, it gave out a similar aura to Chat Noir. It was black, and had green highlights tracing the edges. It even had a green rose to come along with it. His shoulders had a pad with the dangly strings at the bottom, similar to what he usually wears as a prince. He looked over to Nino, and saw that the servant was already dressed in his attire as well. It was orange, with a brown leather belt strapped around his waist. "Nice!"

"We're done!" Alya announced, with Marinette close behind. The dress fit her really well, the orange colour made her green eyes stand out. The dress hugged around her torso, but it freely spread apart at the bottom. "You look awesome!" Adrien commented. He looked at Nino, and he could see the servant was lost for words. Nino blushed furiously, and when he could gather up the courage to speak, he copied Adrien's exact words and sputtered, "Y-you look a-amazing..." This made Alya blush, and the two walked to the side to exchange couple complements to each other. This left Marinette standing there in her newly found dress.

 _Wow_.

Her dress hung around her like an ornament, hugging her whole body. It was a baby pink traditional Chinese dress, with fluffy buttons curving down her torso, and some pretty flower decoration etched into it. It wasn't sleeveless and poofy at the bottom, unlike Alya's.

Marinette shyly looked at the prince, her blue eyes gazing at him. Adrien couldn't help but blush, his eyes locking into hers as he did so. She was so... Beautiful.

And it didn't help that she was wearing a bun.

Adrian looked away, his heartbeat drumming in his ears. _Why is my heart beating so fast_? _I have feelings for Ladybug!_ Remembering Marinette was left awkwardly standing there, he coughed and straightened himself up. "You look beautiful." He blurted out. _That's going too far!_ He turned away, embarrassed. Luckily he didn't see Marinette blushing redder than the depths of hell behind his back. "Thank you..." She squealed.

"You two look amazing!" Alya smiled while walking from behind Marinette. "Yeah! These actually suit you guys." Nino agreed. The four friends were about to start a conversation amongst themselves before they were rudely interrupted. "You dorks look awful in these get ups. Oh, but except you Adrikens!"

Duchess Chloe. Or also known as 'the devil'.

The blonde attached herself to the prince's arm, like gum wad on hair. "So, what are you peasants doing?" She smirked at the servants and Marinette.

"Actually Chloe, we were about to buy these 'get ups'." The blonde prince replied, shaking Chloe off of him.

"You aren't serious, are you? You're buying from this cheap dump of a shop? I'll have daddy order the best silk for our matching gowns!"

"It's fine, Chloe. I like this better." Adrien sighed. "We're about to leave anyway, so I guess I'll see you later."

As soon as the prince said those words, the four friends changed out of their garments quickly and rushed towards the counter as if it was a race to finish. When they finished paying the clerk, they walked towards the exit. Chloe was already there, blocking the door. She stretched out her arm, and checked out her nails."I have a busy schedule with other people, but I'll make an acceptation for you peasants."

When Duchess Chloe turned her back to them, Marinette glared at her, heat starting to form in her eyes. Her best friend placed her hand on her back, gave her a look that said, ' _Fight it Marinette. We're in this together._ '. The princess calmed down and muttered, "The more the merrier."

As soon as the Quintet stepped outside, the sun immediately shone on them, but not as bright as it was when they stepped into the shop. The faint melody from the village fair was near, so the group decided to set off in that direction (despite the small protests coming from Chloe). As they walked, their conversation slowly changed into the events of the ball. Marinette actually found Chloe a little decent, if she looked past her constant bragging and clinginess to Adrien. Still, she was annoying.

"The ball's going to have this buffet stand. I heard it from Nathalie, the head designer."

"How come you know about the ball more than me, Nino?"

"The perks of being a servant. You get to know a few secrets around the castle." Alya laughed, winking at Nino.

"But I do know Ladybug and Chat Noir are invited as special guests."

"They are?!" Marinette didn't even hear about that. She didn't even receive an invitation as Ladybug! ' _How am I going to go as both Ladybug and Marinette?'_

 _"_ Yeah, not to mention it's a masquerade ball."

 _Oh_. That answers the question.

"Speaking of which, I love Ladybug _,_ she's one of the few people I actually like. Including you Adrikens! _"_ Chloe exclaimed while lunging herself to Adrien and hugging him, oblivious to the other three glaring at her. "Little does she know Ladybug's right in front of her." Marinette muttered to herself, her grip tightening on the basket that contained Tikki and her gown.

The cheerful tune of the village fair was growing closer and closer, and before they knew it, they were already there. Colourful streamers were hung around everywhere, and runaway balloons escaped into the sky. Loud voices were heard everywhere, attracting people to their booths. One of which was an archery stand. Marinette took notice, and looked at it. The man behind the archery booth took notice in Marinette's interest as a potential customer, so he started to beckon her to come closer. "Come one, come all! Archery stand here- I repeat- archery stand here!" He loudly exclaimed, although Marinette was the only one listening.

The group noticed Marinette was gone, and caught up to her when they saw her standing in front of the booth.

"More customers? It's my lucky day! Step up to shoot as many targets as you can and try to win a Chat Noir sword! Better yet, a Ladybug bow! 3 pieces of silver for 4 arrows!" Of course it wasn't the same weapons the famous heroes used, but instead wooden replicas.

"Adrien! YOU should try winning me a weapon! Don't you take archery classes?" Chloe said, nudging him towards the stall. "Actually Chloe I-" But he was interrupted by the group's eyes staring at him in anticipation. "-I actually take sword fighting, but guess I'll give it a _shot_." He laughed at his own pun, Marinette's laugh ringing with his. The others gave him an annoyed look.

He reached for the bow, dove his hand in the basket and fumbled around for a single arrow. His hand gripped onto the wood of the bow, and he pulled back the string. At that moment, he realized he didn't have any experience dealing with bow and arrows, except when Ladybug was around him. _'If only Ladybug was here to teach me!'_ He released, and the arrow stuttered in the air before landing on the left target at the bottom. He didn't meant for it to go there, but it worked anyway. He tried a second time, but the arrow flew out of focus and landed between the two targets.

' _He's holding the arrow wrong._ ' Marinette watched him, and walked up to the prince. "Here, try to rotate your elbow and relocate your archer point towards your chin." She stood beside him, grabbed his arm and adjusted his position. She was too focused on teaching archery that she didn't notice she was hugging her crush. While she was doing this, Alya mischievously smiled towards the pair and glanced towards Nino, who had the same look. After Marinette realized her position, she immediately jumped away, her face turning to a bright shade of tomato.

Adrien shot it for the third time and this time the arrow hit the second ring of the top target. "Wow, Marinette! You're really knowledgable in Archery." This made the princess blush even more, and she sputtered out a 'thanks'.

Chloe was having none of it.

The blonde walked up towards the prince and held his arm, adjusting it just like Marinette did. "What Marinette taught you is amateur. Do it like this!" Adrien shot the arrow again with Chloe's adjustment, and the arrow flew out of place, nowhere near the targets. This made the usually positive princess furious. She glared at Chloe once again, this time its as if steam was coming out of her ears.

The rest of the group took turns at shooting, until it was Marinette's turn. She at first refused politely, until Chloe had the nerve to say, "No wonder you're refusing, you're just scared that you'll embarrass yourself."

Oh, it. Is. ON.

The princess grabbed the bow and arrow with a huff, placed her right foot in front of her left, and pulled the arrow back until it reached her chin. She took a deep breath, calming the fire that was burning in her eyes for just a moment, and released. The arrow lingered in the air for a second before hitting directly in the bull's eye. Marinette started walking as she shot, using the time of training she did as Ladybug in good use. Each and every arrow landed in the red bull's eye of every target.

Once she was done, Marinette let out a sigh of relief and placed the bow back to where it once was. She rolled her shoulders, getting a satisfactory crack. Everyone except Chloe clapped at her, even a small that had started to form. She blushed, softly bowed and mouthed out a thank you. "Marinette, I know you're awesome but not like this!" Alya exclaimed, throwing her BFF a hug. Nino agreed, giving the princess a high five.

When Marinette was busy shooting arrows, she didn't notice Adrien staring in awe at her hidden talent. If the Prince wasn't so distracted, he would have realized he was blushing.

The man behind the booth reached behind the counter and gave it to Marinette. "You deserve it, girlie. I think you're the only one who actually shot all of them in the bull's eye." Marinette gave another thanks, and hesitated before offering it to Chloe. The Duchess seemed fazed for a moment, as if she wasn't expecting for her to give the bow away. "T-thank y-" She was about to say, but she stopped herself. "I might accept your gift if you'll stop being so touchy with my fiancé." Chloe hissed, clinging onto Adrien's arm again.

Marinette and Adrien had the same reaction.

"What?!"

"Didn't you know? Daddy arranged for me and Adrikens to marry each other!" To push it even further, the girl rubbed her face on the prince's arm like some house cat.

"B-b-but my father didn't say anything about this! Sure he doesn't talk to me much, but he would never do such a th-" Then Adrien remembered his father wouldn't do this sort of thing BEFORE his mother disappeared. His heart dropped.

The prince didn't know this but nearby him, another heart dropped as well.

Marinette's eyes widened, hot tears starting to form. She was so sad she didn't even hear the neighing and trotting of a carriage coming way too close to her. "GRAB HER! GRAB THE PRINCESS!" And just like that, a familiar darkness engulfed her vision.

* * *

 **….And that concludes this Chapter!**

 **This chapter was easier to write, as it was more chill out haha. I didn't want to say that Alya and Nino were 'dating', because in the Olden Times in France, French people don't date at all. They usually just marry someone after getting to know each other lolol.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Please follow, favourite, and review if you like my story!**

 **See you later~**


	8. The Thugs

Hi guys! I'm back! Special thanks to Web2theweb1 for encouraging me to write the new chapter as I wasn't feeling confident to.

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Marinette sat on the wooden floor, a thick rope tightly secured around her hands behind her back. Darkness surrounded her, even if she wasn't blindfolded. The smell of sweet grass lemon and dry wood flooded her nose, and from that she could tell they used pine trees for the wood of this dark room. Outside, she could hear the faint trotting of the horses that pulled the carriage, and the rocks the carriage wheels roll over. She could also hear an occasional mumble between the two captives, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

At first she thought the person abducting her was Chat Noir, but she could immediately tell it wasn't him from the way the person held her. Chat Noir always carried her gently, unlike the current brute who was holding her in captivity. Scratching out the fact that Chat Noir always held her in a potato sack, of course.

She followed the sound of their voices by pushing her ear on the walls, trying desperately to make out what the captives were saying.

"...Around a thousand gold pieces..."

One muttered in a very low voice.

Another voice was low as well, but with a hint of lightness to it. Marinette guessed it was female. "...Not worth the trouble, could have kidnapped her ourselves..."

She could only differentiate two different voices, so she assumed there were two people.

"...Are you...You know what he can do to us..."

"At least...Basket..."

Basket.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard that word. Gulping, she felt around the wooden floor, tracing the cracks and creaks in between to see if she still had her basket with her in the carriage. Her eyes lit up when her hand brushed against something hard and smooth, but as she felt it more, it got longer and longer. Confusion filled her head as she realized it felt nothing like her basket. The smooth texture, the hard structure, and the long shape all resembled a long stick that has no reason to be in this carriage whatsoever.

She sighed in disappointment, before widening her eyes in realization that the kidnappers might have taken it from her. If that was true, that means Tikki could be in danger! They could find out about her alter ego, or worse, hurt Tikki!

The mumbling between the two captives eased. A loud thump. An uncomfortable silence poured into the carriage. Marinette wouldn't have felt nervous about them stopping their conversation, if it weren't for the fact that she can hear a faint rhythmical sound of footsteps growing louder and louder. Her heart grew louder as well, each beat pounding in her ears. Bending down, she clumsily grabbed hold of the stick she had found earlier, and used her fingers to swiftly trace the walls back into a corner. It's difficult to use the stick with her hands tied behind her back, but it'll have to do.

The dreaded footsteps eventually stopped, and a second later Marinette heard the creaking of a door. Seeing the crack of light, she took it as a motivation for freedom and tightened her fingers around the stick. The crack of light widened even more, engulfing her with a sudden flash of light. Her eyes needed time to adjust, but the princess knew she had to act. Now.

"yAH!"

Running towards the source of light, she swung her whole body in a full 360° angle with her whole might. She may not be able to swing her arms, but she hoped her body swing was effective. The stick came in contact, which relived her as she thought it would miss and anger her captor. Her eyes have already adjusted to the light by now, so she turned to her captor, preparing herself to swing her fist at him if she had to. She gasped. She loosened her grip and the stick fell onto the floor. *clang!*

Standing before her was a blonde dressed clad in fully black, crouching down and clutching his side. One of the cat ears of this particular person was twitching frantically, as if frantically trying to swat away the pain. "Ugh...Princess...You sure seem like you don't need any saving..."

"Chat Noir!" The princess gasped, immediately feeling guilt and rushing towards the hero's side. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean- I didn't know-" She whispered, her voice quivering. She grasped his gloved hand and helped him get up. He stumbled at first when he stood, but recovered nonetheless. "How did you find me?" She asked, her tilting her head to the side.

"Uh..." He couldn't tell her because he saw her as Prince Adrien. "Animal... Instinct?" He suggested, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

Marinette knew there was more to the story, but she shrugged it off, it might not be important anyway. "Thank you, and shall we get out of here?" She suggested, nudging her head towards the door. Chat Noir chuckled. "We shall."

They started to walk out, and as Chat Noir was following behind, he noticed the princess's hands were bound behind her back. His hand shot up into the air, and dark magic started to stem from his hand.

"Cataclysm!"

This made Marinette jump, and she was about to scold Chat, but she realized her hands were finally free. She muttered a thanks, and continued to the front of the carriage. Marinette half expected her captives to be lying down, but they weren't in sight. She looked at Chat Noir, thinking that he might have the answer, but he looked just as confused as her. "I knocked them out and left them here!" He exclaimed.

"It looks like you didn't knock us out fast enough." The low but light voice (Marinette had heard while listening to the captive's voices) said. The heroes turned around and caught a glimpse of their villain. She had short red hair, and had a fit body-frame. Black fingerless gloves hugged around her arms, and she had black leather boots to match with them.

The person swung her black fingerless-gloved arm at Chat Noir, but he stuck to his swift nature he was known for, and jumped out of the way just before the fist came into contact. Marinette decided to stay put and not fight, to not risk Chat figuring out she was Ladybug. He was always good at hand to combat anyway.

A short moustached man came from behind her, and Marinette guessed he was the one with the low voice. He was a quarter short of Marinette's height, so she had to look down at him. The man growled, and lunged towards Marinette. He stepped behind her and held her tightly, her arms stuck between her and the man. Chat Noir noticed and was about to step towards them, but Marinette reacted quickly: she hoisted the man up by bending forwards-with no difficulty thanks to his short height- and he laid on her back and flipped, lying flat on the ground.

 _'Darn me and my Ladybug instincts!'_ Marinette chided to herself.

Chat could only stare at Marinette in awe, completely ignoring the distressed groans of the burglar on the floor.

The princess inwardly sighed and smiled meekly at Chat, as if she hadn't single handily defeated someone while dressed as a princess.

"Where are you from and what is your purpose?" Marinette boomed at the defeated thugs, with a drastic change in her denominator.

"W-we work for someone who w-wishes not to be spoken of." The moustached man that Marinette just defeated answered.

Chat Noir rolled his eyes and extended his sword, stabbing on the wooden floor right next to the man. The man gave out a small 'eep'.

"We're either gonna do this the hard way or you can just tell us who the person is." Chat said, speaking threateningly but calmly.

"Hawkmoth! We work for Hawkmoth!" The red-headed lady exclaimed, still lying on the floor.

Chat Noir widened his eyes. Why would Hawkmoth want to capture the Princess? Didn't he just want their Miraculouses?

"Why?" He demanded, glaring at the two thugs.

"I dunno! He didn't spare us the details, all we care about is the gold!" The woman spoke again, starting to get a little irritated from being questioned.

Marinette looked down, lost in thought. Suddenly, her head rose up and she had a worried expression on her face. "Chat Noir….. I think he was using me to bait you and m- er, _Ladybug_ to come and rescue me."

Oh, how she was basking in the irony.

Chat in turn widened his eyes as well. Hawkmoth was extending to new strategies on acquiring the Miraculouses, he must _really_ want them. He shook the thought out of his head, and grabbed Marinette's hand. "No matter, Ladybug and I will take care of this. We'll just have to guard you _twice_ as much." He winked at her. Marinette smiled, a light pink colour highlighting her cheeks.

The cat hero still held her hand, leading her out of the carriage. He turned his head towards the two people."I'm not leading you guys to the guards because I have to send my princess back home safely. You know what'll happen if I see you guys going around kidnapping people." He suddenly lifted Marinette off the ground, carrying her bridal style. The princess yelped, laying there awkwardly as the cat prepared himself to jump.

As he was about to, Chat Noir tilted his head, not bothering to look at the thugs "Oh, and please tell Mr. Hawkmoth to not bother kidnapping the princess. We're still going to get away anyway! Adieu!"

He jumped off, and the last thing the thugs saw of him was Chat's tail, swinging back and forth as he jumped, as if waving goodbye with the same mocking attitude.

.+*. +*.

Chat Noir ran off towards the direction of the market, his claws still clutching onto the princess.

"Uh, Chat Noir?"

The black-clad hero looked down. "Yeah?"

"You can put me down, I can walk there myself. I don't want to make you anymore tired than you already are."

"Don't worry about me, princess! After all, I have super strength." He said slyly, flexing his muscles.

Marinette just let out an annoyed sigh masked by her hand, but she shook her head and smiled anyway.

She faced back down, looking at the moving ground whizz beneath her as they both got closer and closer to the kingdom.

.+*. +*.

"I'm sorry sir, they got away."

A tall, dark man towered above two certain thugs. Darkness encased the room they were in, the only light source glimmering from the twinkle of the butterflies flying around.

The man angrily glared at them, while the two thugs just kneeled, quivering as they bowed down their heads.

"WHAT!" He shouted, a faint purple glow projecting from his eyes. He slammed the staff he was holding on the ground, and a loud ' _BANG_ ' came out, echoing within the walls of the room.

"I ask you to do one simple job with an exceptional award, and you repay me like this? Are you questioning my authority?" Hawkmoth sneered, holding up a small bag. He shook it little, and made it so that the coins inside the bag would tinkle and collide with each other.

The two thugs stared at the bag and they both looked down in shame. "We're very sorry. Please spare us."

"Whatever. Go back to wherever you once belong. I don't want to see your faces anymore."

The two thugs stared at Hawkmoth, as their eyes and mouths gaped. They hurriedly muttered a thanks, and scrambled out, their eyes still glued to the ground.

"Unless."

The two stopped dead in their tracks.

"Unless you want a second chance?"

The red-haired thug stared at her partner, who was staring at the man towering before them. "Lucius! This is a bad idea." She whispered, gripping onto the moustached man's shoulders. She knelt down so their heads were level. "Escúchame! We must leave!"

Hawkmoth glared at her, and stabbed the ground with his staff. This made the two people jump and catch their attention. "I'm giving no mercy to cowards." He raised his staff, and the ruby on the staff glowed. He pointed it at the horrified woman.

"Bye, bye, little butterfly."

A flash overtook the room, engulfing the room with purple light for a mere second. After their eyes adjusted, they saw that in place of the red-headed woman, was a small, black butterfly with red colours coating the edges.

"No! Sofía!" The moustached man yelled, reaching out for the butterfly flying away. Tears started to stream down his cheeks and he bent down, his fists hitting the ground.

Hawkmoth took notice and smirked. He was about to summon a butterfly onto his hand, but noticed the black butterfly with red edges was already fluttering towards Lucius.

Once it came into contact, Lucius stopped crying immediately and stood up. His physique changed from short to tall, and red hair started to sprout from his head.

"At your service, hawkmoth."

Hawkmoth could only let out a laugh. "Incredible! Who could have thought my powers could reach such limits! Now I have a loyal and faithful servant who has the combined intelligence and strength of two people!"

He settled down, and a thin, unsettling smile grew on his face. "Watch out Ladybug and Chat Noir, this may be the best challenge you can never overcome. Watch out, the ball is coming in two days, and I will make sure you never come out of it without giving me your Miraculouses."

He laughed darkly, and as he did so, his eyes started to glow a dark purple. The window emitting the only light source in the room closed as he laughed.


End file.
